Parenting Class
by IcyPanther
Summary: Complete DHr & HG Sixth years at Hogwarts are now required to take a parenting class, what fun! Hermione, Draco, and Harry are paired up in which they'll trade off being children. Can they live through the class or will being a parent prove too hard?
1. No Way!

Parenting Class finished on: July 7, 2005

Sequel can be found as One Step at a Time on my profile or in the link below (please replace the (DOT) with a (.))  
_fanfiction(DOT)net/s/2593121/1/_

To read the Spanish Version please visit below link (please replace the (DOT) with a (.)) -- Is still incomplete and not being updated  
_fanfiction(DOT)net/s/2461947/1/_

To read the Spanish Version that is being constantly updated (July 2008) please visit link below (please replace the (DOT) with a (.))  
_fanfiction(DOT)net/s/4367665/1/_

To read the German version please visit below link (please replace the (DOT) with a (.))  
_fanficton(DOT)net/s/4864832/1/_

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Harry Potter characters, classes, or anything else related to Rowling's works of wonder. **

**Parenting Class**

**No Way!**

"So what do you think this new class is going to be about?" asked Ronald Weasley, his freckled nose crinkled as he reread the notice each sixth year student had gotten that morning at breakfast.

"It's a parenting class," said Hermione Granger, honey eyes shimmering with excitement. "Dumbledore wants us to all experience being part of a family and gain practice in caring for those younger then us."

"But why?" the redhead protested, stuffing the paper into his back pocket. "I've already had plenty of practice at my house. I have five older brothers and a younger sister for Merlin's sake! What do I need more practice for?"

"Well Ron," said Harry, "not everyone has a big family like you do. I mean, I have Dudley who could be classified as a brother but Hermione doesn't have any siblings. Neither do Dean or Lavender."

"Besides Ron," laughed the girl, "if you're as good as you say you'll get top grades! Think of it as an easy class for you to pass." Ron brightened considerably and the three continued up to the East Tower in silence, all of their energy going to the steep climb.

"Who in their right mind puts a class all the way up here?" panted Ron. "Sure, Trelawny's got her North Tower spot but at least it's by a major staircase and we know a secret passage! Say, Harry? Does the map show any shortcuts around here?"

"Nope, sorry mate," Harry said with a grin. "Do you think we might be able to create a passage Mione?"

"We can't do that!" Hermione exclaimed, pausing her climb to turn around and look at her friends. "The castle was built to be as it is...we aren't supposed to change anything!"

"Not even a little, tiny, mini passage?" Ron pleaded.

"No," she said firmly, voice holding a closing note. "Now hurry up or we'll be late." Increasing their pace, the three best friends reached the top of the winding passage exactly eleven minutes and thirty-six seconds later.

"Well, here we are," said Harry looking at the door in front of them. "Should we go in?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed the door open, a gasp expelling from her throat at the classroom in front of them. It was about half the size of the Great Hall with desk lined up in neat rows. Students from each of the four houses were sitting down with their friends, glancing nervously at a closed door in the back of the room where the teacher currently was.

A large, crystal chandelier hung from the center of the room, candles sparkling amongst the gems. An ornate red and silver rug was beneath their feet, the only classroom they knew of to have carpeting. Golden picture frames adorned the walls, all of them holding a scroll of some sort.

"This isn't actually a classroom," said Hermione, sliding into one of the empty desks. "Hogwarts a History says that this is actually a conference room for the teachers that they use to plan out events and course schedules. Back in 1944 the Prefects actually got to use this room as a meeting place for themselves."

"Is everyone from sixth year here?" asked Harry in wonderment, glancing around the gigantic room. In a far corner sat Draco Malfoy, legs propped up on the desk with Crabbe and Goyle sitting on either side of him.

A cluster of Hufflepuffs were towards the center of the room and Ravenclaws dominated the front rows of the desks. Other students were dotted around the class, talking in small groups or remaining strangely silent.

"Looks like a full house," remarked Dean Thomas, dropping into a chair next to Ron. "Why do you think all of us are here at one time? Can one teacher really handle us all?"

"I would think they could if we didn't a few certain people in our class," said Ron, giving a dark look over to the Slytherin corner. "But it is weird."

Two sharp handclaps caught the group's attention and everyone at once quieted down and turned to look at the front of the room. A rather petite woman was standing there, her black hair cut to chin length with clips holding back some of the shorter strands. She wore a set of light purple robes, a wand in her left hand.

"Welcome to Parenting Class," she said with a bright smile. "I'm Professor Tobin and will have all of you for the first few weeks of the school year. If you are not a sixth year student and somehow accidentally wound up here please show yourself out." No one moved.

"Very well then. First off, I'd like to announce the schedule for this year. Quidditch will be canceled for now and restarted in February," she began, ignoring the gasps from the Quidditch players. "This class will only go on from now until the end of October. During that time, some of your classes you normally take may have to be changed to incorporate your charge's needs." Here several glances were exchanged warily amongst the students.

"Professor?" asked Hermione raising her hand. "I understand that this is a parenting class but would you please tell us what it is?"

"I'm getting to that Miss Granger," the professor said with a chuckle. "I'm sure that many of you will be happy to hear this next part," she said, turning to face the class. "This is the only time we will ever meet here. In fact, this is the last time you will have Parenting Class." Eyebrows were raised in confusion but Tobin continued.

"Today you will all be randomly split into groups of three depending on the closeness of your schedules. And yes, you may be paired with other houses," she said in answer to the unasked question.

"From now on, skip over this period and use it as a free class until Parenting Class ends. You will then go back to your normal schedules. In your group of three one of you will be turned into a five year old child."

"What the-"

"She can't be serious!"

"No way!"

Exclamations of protest rose among the students until Tobin raised a slim hand for silence. "There is no use making a big deal out of it," she answered calmly. "In turn, every two weeks someone else in the group will turn into the child and the previous child back to their original age. Each 'family' so to speak will be given a small house of their own inside of the castle. It is there you will live for the two months with your group."

"What exactly are we learning from this, Professor?" queried Hermione.

"To be a responsible, mature adult," the teacher responded promptly. "As a parent you must never let the child out of your sight unless you have worked out arrangements with your partner or a friend to watch him or her for you. You may _not _however have a younger student sit for you. Are there any more questions?"

"How are we being graded on this?" asked Parvarti, her brown eyes sparkling with enthusiasm for the project.

"Your grade will be based on how content the child is and how well you are managing. Your charge will come with you to classes that both you and your partner share where professors will observe your interaction with the child."

"When you're the child will you have any memories after the five year old age?" asked Hermione.

"The potion we're using is very complicated. The child will remember events from their past but his or her current 'guardians' will be in place of his or her mother and father. You will of course look different but to the child you will be that parent. Another handy little spell is all of the child's clothing will shrink to fit as soon as the potion had been drunk. If no one has any further questions I'll call out the groups."

Hermione tightly gripped her friends' hands, wanting to be with them. "First group is Padama Patil, Seamus Finnagin, and Hannah Abbot. If you could please come here..."

The three said students nervously rose to their feet and made their way up to the teacher. "So I only have to say this once listen up," ordered Tobin. "I'm giving each group a map to bring them to their temporary rooms where their trunks already are. In the top corner of the paper is the password to your room. Inside you will find three glasses. Please have everyone take one and drink it. One of them has the potion and as soon as the glasses have been emptied your assignment has started."

Hannah took the rolled up parchment and her small group left the room, a relieved smile on all of their faces. "Group two is Ronald Weasley, Lavender Brown, and Terry Boot. "

"Have fun," whispered Hermione to Ron as he got up and left the classroom a moment later, his face a slight shade of green.

"Group three is Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter."

"This can't be happening," murmured Hermione, rising to her feet and going to the front of the room, Harry walking protectively next to her.

"If the ferret tries anything I'll make sure he'll regret it," Harry comforted, a grim smile on his face. Draco joined the two Gryffindors a moment later, a scowl on his pale face. Whispers ran around the class as the Gryffindor pair stared at the Slytherin.

"Thank you," said Hermione stiffly, taking the handed map from Tobin, her brown eyes never leaving Draco's silver. Silently she turned and exited the room, the map clutched tightly in her hand.

"Listen here Malfoy," growled Harry, pausing once they were out of the class. "If you try to do anything to Hermione you will pay."

"Let's all just try to get through this," Hermione pleaded. "No fighting, insulting or teasing, okay? It's only for two months...can we try to get along for that time?" She held out her hand expectantly to Draco.

He hesitated before quickly shaking her hand before wiping his on his robes as though he'd just caught a germ. "I'm doing this so I don't fail the class," he hissed, glaring daggers at Hermione.

"Where are we supposed to go?" butted in Harry, trying to avoid arguments at all costs. He too wanted to pass the class and prove that he could survive life with the Slytherin for two whole months.

"We're down by the charms corridor," Hermione said, peering intently at the map. "Our portrait should have a jester on it. The password for the two months is 'Parvulus'." In a tense silence the trio made their way to their temporary home, each thinking their own thoughts.

_'I can't believe it! Two Gryffindors! And they just happened to be the Mudblood and Potter. Can life get any worse?' _grumbled the Slytherin to himself, gray eyes stormy. '_Father will be furious with the arrangement...I should talk to Tobin and see if I can get a new group, but for some reason I don't think she'll change us.'_

_'I guess I should be lucky it's only Malfoy,' _thought Harry. '_What if I'd gotten stuck with him and Zabani or Parkinson or some other Slytherin instead of Hermione? I think they would have either brought me to Voldemort as a sacrifice or I'd have much bodily harm done to me. Yep, guess I'm very luck to have Hermione.'_

_'Maybe this won't be so bad,' _mused Hermione, her expression thoughtful. '_If Ron were here instead of Harry I can see some problems...with his temper and Malfoy's mouth we'd be digging ourselves into a pretty deep hole. But if we can all work on our truce we should be okay, right?'_

"We're here," said Hermione, pausing a few moments later. The trio stood in front of a portrait of a man wearing a red and black jester's outfit, his face painted white with a large grin.

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed, juggling several bright green balls. "You must be the group I'm taking in. I'm Leviculus and at your service. Do you have the password?"

"Parvulus," said Hermione clearly.

"Jolly well done," Leviculus chuckled. "I'll open up after I lay down some basic information that Professor Tobin gave to me. Righty, first off is each of you has your own bedroom so no sharing unless you happen to be the child. That is allowed if the child would like to stay with someone. Second, the portrait is child locked from the inside meaning whichever of you is the little tyke you can't exit unless you have a guardian with you. And that's it. Go on in."

Leviculus swung open and the three entered, eyes taking in their living conditions.

"Who decorated?" exclaimed Draco, eyes widening in horror. Bright orange couches sat in the front room with yellow fringe on the pillows. The walls were a sky blue with green polka dots and the carpeting was a dazzling shade of red.

Hermione giggled. "We do have a jester as our portrait...he probably gave his input on the room. It's quite different, don't you think so Harry?"

But the boy-who-lived wasn't listening, his eyes focused on three glasses sitting on a pink table. Each glass was half full of a deep purple liquid. Hesitantly he picked one up and sniffed it. "It smells like grape juice," Harry said with a smile.

Draco picked up a glass and Hermione took the last one. "Cheers," she said, the three of them clinking glasses before downing the liquid.

Draco set his glass back down on the table. "None of us changed," he remarked, staring at his reflection in the mirror that hung on the wall. He was still almost six feet with his silvery blond hair where as Harry was slightly taller then him and Hermione came up a little past his chin.

"It does take a while," yelled Leviculus from outside. "Just you wait."

Seconds later one of the images in the mirror wavered and began to shrink until a small child was standing on the floor and peering up at the two teenagers.

"Oh my God..."

**Author's Notes:**

Well, this fic is going to be my attempt at humor and away from some of the darker themes I normally write. If you are a reader of some of my other fics, gomen for writing this but I have all of these ideas popping up and I had to get at least one down on paper!

Does anyone have any clue of which character I made into a child first?

Updates may take a while cuz of school and all but I will update as soon as I can. A quick tip I learned...more reviewsfaster updates. n.n

Please do leave a review so I can see what you all think of this. Arigatou! (That means Thank You in Japanese. I'm a big fan of their language, culture, and most importantly their anime!)


	2. It Has Begun

**Disclaimer: Let's look at it logically...if I owned Harry Potter I wouldn't be typing on a _fan fiction _website now, would I?**

**Parenting Class**

**It Has Begun**

"Who are you?" were the first words out of the child's mouth, lips turned down in a small frown. "And where am I?" he asked, looking around the horribly decorated room with interest.

"Well, I'm Hermione," said the Gryffindor girl, a surprised smile on her face. "And this is Harry...we're going to be looking after you for a while. You're currently at a room in Hogwarts where you'll be for the next two weeks."

Bright pools of silver looked at Hermione curiously and she couldn't help but give a large grin. Draco Malfoy was one of the cutest things! His eyes seemed to glow from the inside, his blond hair cut short with bangs hanging over his forehead to come just above his eyes.

His black robes had shrunk down to fit his rather tiny frame and his wand had appeared in Hermione's hand since he was underage to be doing magic. "But where are Mother and Father?" he asked, warily looking at Harry before taking a tiny step back. "They won't like it that I left."

"Don't worry," said Hermione cheerfully, kneeling down to Draco's height so that he mightn't feel like she was so imposing. "Professor Dumbledore has taken care of everything."

"You're sure?" he questioned hesitantly, body slowly beginning to relax from the rigid form he'd held himself in. "I won't get in trouble?"

"Of course not. Now why don't you come with me and I'll show you to your room, okay?" Draco gave a small nod and still glancing almost fearfully at Harry he followed the girl towards a door on the far wall that was stationed between two other doors with a fourth one on the far right.

Hoping this was the child's room, Hermione pushed open the door and let out a low sigh of relief. A small twin bed, rather close to the floor, sat in the middle of the room with a shelf of books next to it, all of the wizarding fairy tales.

A brass trunk sat at the foot of the bed, which the Gryffindor assumed to contain Draco's clothes and belongings. A window across from the bed let sunlight stream in, lighting upon the miniature waterfall in the corner and creating small, dancing rainbows.

The Slytherin let out a squeal of delight and raced over to the waterfall, water coursing over his hands and falling in a basin at the bottom. "Isn't he adorable, Harry?" Hermione breathed, sensing her best friend come next to her, honey eyes watching the small boy play with the water.

"Hard to believe he's Malfoy," Harry chuckled softly, his own emeralds following Hermione's gaze. "Do you think Lucius hasn't taught him about Voldemort yet? He doesn't seem to harbor any ill feelings towards you or me...especially me. He's supposed to hate me."

"Draco's a little kid Harry," she giggled, trying to stifle her laughter behind her hand as Draco gave her an odd glance before turning back to the waterfall. "And I think it would be best if we both at least tried to call him Draco for the time being...I'm pretty sure his parents don't call him Malfoy and since we're sort of filling in for them we shouldn't either."

"He seems scared of me Mione," the jet black haired boy said softly, Draco now abandoning the falling water and looking at the book titles before pulling one off of the shelf and clambering up onto the bed with it, his pale hands flipping the pages while his eyes took in the beautifully illustrated pictures.

"Really? We'll keep an eye on him. It's probably just apprehension, nothing to worry about." After a pause Hermione said, "Do you think one of us should go read him a story? I loved it when my parents read to me."

"You love books in general, Mione. If it doesn't bother you I'm going to go check out my room. Maybe you could read him one?"

"Sure," the brown haired girl agreed, bobbing her bushy head happily. "We'll all head down for dinner in about half an hour, kay? I think that sounds reasonable." Harry nodded and left the room while Hermione cautiously approached Draco.

"What are you reading?" she inquired, settling herself on the edge of the bed.

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" Hermione blinked in surprise and Draco continued, "Mother never stays...she's always out with her friends or at parties. So why are you here?"

"So whom do you normally play with during the day?" she asked, heart going out to the child. From the way he'd talked about his mother it was if she was never there to tuck him in or read him a story. She had never known that, always being lathered with attention.

"No one," he murmured, picking his head up from the book and looking at the Gryffindor. "Every once in a while Pansy will come over," he said brightening slightly, "but normally I just stay in my room. Oh! And the kitchens! Dobby likes to sneak me cookies! But don't tell Father and Mother," he said, voice dropping to a whisper as though he'd done something wrong. "They'll get angry."

"My lips are sealed," she said, dragging her index finger across her lips and then tossing her hand over her shoulder while inside she wondered. _'What is his family life like at home if he's scared of sneaking a cookie?'_

"What does that mean?" he queried, imitating the movement Hermione had just done.

"It's a muggle sign," she said, playing the muggle a bit obvious to see if it caught his attention at all. "It means that you're zippering your lips and then throwing out the key so no one will ever hear of it."

"A muggle term? Father says all muggles are bad people...is that true? Pansy told me she used to be friends with a muggle once," he whispered, voice dropping once more, "but that when her father found out she wasn't allowed to play with her anymore."

"Muggles are good people, Draco," Hermione said, seeing an opportunity to try to change Draco's views on the whole 'purebloods are better then mudbloods' outlook. "Do you think I'm nice?" After a second's thought he gave a tiny nod of his head and Hermione smiled. "I'm a muggleborn," she said proudly, smile widening at his gasp. "We're just like you Draco, no differences except who are parents are."

"But Father said that muggles and muggleborns were below us...isn't that true?"

Hermione knew she was probably confusing the poor boy by showing him her views while he had grown up listening to his father. "No it isn't. What your father said is prejudiced against us."

"What's prejudiced mean?"

A wry smile crossed Hermione's face. _'Silly me. He's only five years old; of course he doesn't know such complicated terms! But I must admit...he's very smart for his age.' _And it was true. Draco was able to read the book quite easily and seemed to be quite mature for someone of five years. "It means to have a belief or an idea about a person or something formed before that person ever really got to meet them," she stated, attempting to put the definition into simpler terms for the boy to understand.

"But you seem really nice," he mused, "and smart," he added as an afterthought. "I like you." A large smile broke out on the brunette's face and she pulled the blond into her arms, his small body instantly going stiff.

"What' wrong?" she asked as he slowly began to relax, completely miffed about the child's reaction.

"No one's ever hugged me before," he mumbled into her shirt, voice muffled from the fabric. "I was just surprised...that's all."

_'No one? Poor Draco...I can't imagine ever not being hugged. Or kissed good night, tucked in bed, sung to, and all those little things my parents did to show they loved me.' _A sudden thought invaded her mind and her arms tightened around the boy as a determined smile crossed her lips. '_While he's in my care I'm going to make sure he receives as much attention as he can. Who knows? Maybe he'll change for the better.'_

"Hey, Mione? You and Mal-Draco ready to go?" Harry asked, leaning causally against the doorframe.

The girl started and glanced at the clock across the room, realizing she'd been hugging the Slytherin for almost the entire half hour. "Ready to go to dinner, Draco?" she asked kindly, dropping her arms from around him. He looked up, eyes shining a tad brighter then earlier with unshed tears and nodded. "What are those, Harry?" she questioned, glancing at the two black boxes in his hands.

"Cameras," he said with a smile. "I found this one in your room," he said, handing one of the cameras over to her. "There was a note with mine saying that we're to take pictures during our time with each other because in the last week we're going to put together a big project with the photos from all three group members. It said try to find interesting photos of something you might not see everyday."

"Sounds fun. I take it you have his camera?" Hermione nodded at the small boy standing silently next to her, his eyes turned towards the ground.

"Yeah, he'll get it later," he answered, emphasizing on the later knowing Hermione would understand. "Let's go, I'm starving!" Hermione took one of Draco's hands and the boy stuck the other in his pocket to prevent Harry from taking it. The ivy eyes boy raised an eyebrow at his friend and she shrugged.

"Have a nice dinner," called Leviculus from the portrait, waving merrily at the trio as Draco gave a tentative wave back with is free hand.

"You know, Harry," wondered Hermione as they walked down the stone corridor, "who's house table are we supposed to sit at?"

"Maybe Dumbledore will tell us...after all, he did arrange these pairings, right? I really can't see ours being random...both of us and Malfoy?"

"He's working on bringing the houses closer together," the girl smartly said. "Here we are," she announced as the trio stopped in front of the entrance to the Great Hall. Harry pushed open the heavy wooden doors and they entered, eyes taking in the spectacle.

Some children were sitting quietly at their 'parents'' sides while others were messily eating dinner the house elves had prepared. Draco's eyes scanned the head table before they lighted on a single figure, a wide smile filling his face.

"UNCLE SEVVY!" he cried, breaking out of Hermione's grasp and running down the middle of the tables. The Potions professor looked up from his meal, eyes narrowed in a glare. He could have sworn he'd heard his godson but that was impossible.

"What do we do?" Harry whispered urgently to Hermione, the small Slytherin now completely out of sight among the students.

"Sit down and hope Snape doesn't hex him...or us," she whispered, guiding Harry to the Gryffindor table where they took seats besides an adult Ron and Lavender with a tiny Terry Boot between them.

"Bloody hell," murmured the redhead. "Was that Malfoy?"

Harry gave a short nod while Hermione groaned. "I can't watch," she moaned, placing her head in her arms. "What's Snape going to do to him?"

"What about us?" whined Harry, now frantically looking over the sea of students for any sign of the silvery blond head. "We're going to die, I know it."

"There he is," gasped Ron, sighting the boy. "He's climbing up to the head table!"

Across the room, Draco crawled beneath the head table until he came to a familiar set of ever black robes. Giving a tiny jump he scrambled onto the man's lap, a wide smile on his face. "Hi Uncle Sev!" he chirped.

Snape looked down at the boy, the oddest expression on his face. His forehead was crinkled with lines while his eyes shone brightly in confusion. The scowl was gone from his mouth to be replaced with a look of sheer bewilderment.

"What's this stuff?" Draco asked, reaching forward to pick up a golden goblet in front of the man. Picking it up the boy sniffed the drink and smiled. "It smells like cherries," he said happily, rising the glass to take a sip.

"That's wine!" exclaimed the Potions master, attempting to pull the challis out of his godson's grip. What ended up happening was the goblet tipping over to splash Snape in the face with the champagne.

Dumbledore, who had been watching the entire scene, burst into laughter to see the shocked look on the normally composed professor. Unfortunately, the grape the headmaster had been eating got lodged in his throat as he swallowed it whole and his laughter quickly turned into coughs.

McGonagall saw Dumbledore beginning to choke and jumped up from her chair, positioning her arms to give him the Heimlich maneuver. Draco meanwhile was apologizing rapidly, eyes teary.

"There, there, it's all right," soothed Snape, patting the boy awkwardly on the head while at the same time dabbing at his face with a napkin. Draco set the goblet, now empty, back on the table, never noticing that it was sitting on the skinny part of a spoon.

Snape dropped the napkin onto the table, the wine gone from his face although a slightly red hue was still visible, the cloth landing in a heap on the round spoon. The force was enough (the napkin was made of heavy material and soaked in wine) to send the goblet flying in the air and land in a bowl of mashed potatoes, effectively splattering everyone in a two foot range.

But that wasn't the end of the horrors of the head table catastrophe. The bowl holding the potatoes tipped over to hit Professor Flitwick's glass of pumpkin juice, which fell over, an orange stain spreading over the white tablecloth.

The glass knocked into a three layer chocolate cake which tipped to slam into several more wine goblets and then a candle that had been sitting in front of a fruit platter. The flame fell onto the rapidly spreading wine, the table cloth sizzling as fire raced upon the trail, knocking platters and cups over in its wake.

The grand finale was when the mess reached the end of the table and a huge bowl of rice casserole was knocked off the end and fell directly on top of Mrs. Norris, who had been passing next to the table.

Before the flames could spread, Dumbledore, who was now free from the grape clogging his throat thanks to the Transfiguration professor, shot a spell at the dancing fire and it sputtered out, the whole hall now in dead silence.

Students watched fearfully as Snape looked down at the small boy on his lap. "Am I in trouble, Uncle Sev?" Draco whispered, lower lip trembling and tears spilling down his pale cheeks. "I didn't mean to put the cup there...honest."

Tenderly, quite odd for Snape, he said, "Of course not Draco. Who was supposed to be watching you?"

"Hermione and Harry," he sniffled, wiping the tears away from his eyes. His voice, though soft, could be heard by all and heads turned to the two Gryffindors. Hermione dug her face deeper into her arms and Harry looked guilty down at the table, suddenly finding a huge interest in his fork.

They both knew that Draco hadn't meant to get them in trouble. He had only been answering the question, which as far as he knew of had no hidden motive behind it.

"Would Mr. Potter and Miss Granger please come here?" asked Snape, voice eerily calm. The whole school watched with bated breath as Harry and Hermione slowly approached the head table. "Are you not supposed to be keeping an eye on your charge at all times?" hissed Snape, eyes glinting maliciously.

"We didn't mean to lose him, Sir," Hermione said softly, refusing to meet Snape's eyes. "But as soon as he saw you he took off."

"Fifty points from Gryffindor," the Potions teacher said, gesturing at the mess Draco had made, "and may you keep more of hand on Draco in the future." He would have loved to punish them more but with Dumbledore watching he couldn't do much. Besides, if he were to take points off of the childcare project his godson might lose points too. And it wasn't entirely their fault, although he'd never say that aloud.

"Yes, Sir," the duo muttered.

"Go and sit with Miss Granger and Mr. Potter, Draco," ordered Snape, giving his godson a push off of his lap. Draco turned and gave Snape a quick hug at the same time a flash blinded both.

"Sorry," Hermione laughed, holding up her camera. "Couldn't resist." Snape glowered silently as Draco took Hermione's outstretched hand and let her lead him to his new seating arrangements.

Everyone burst into chatter as soon as the trio had sat back down, whispers racing around the room as the teachers cleaned up the mess. "Bloody hell," murmured Ron, looking in awe at the tiny Malfoy. "Uncle Sev?"

"Watch your language around the children, Ron," scolded Lavender, smacking the redhead upside his face. "Who knows what kind of things they'll pick up?" As if on cue Terry reached up and smacked Ron.

"You're the one teaching them Lav," Ron grumbled, rubbing his rather pink cheek. Terry smacked Ron again and then pinched his arm rather hard, an innocent smile adorning his face the entire time. "I'm going to be black and blue by the time this is over," grumbled the Weasley, rubbing his arm and cheek.

"Lavender is right you know," smirked Hermione, giving her friend a pat on his head like a dog. "The kids will pick up if you keep up like that."

A tugging on her robe sleeve made the girl turn to her young charge, his eyes wide. "Are you mad at me Hermione? I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

"Of course not," she replied, giving Draco a one-armed hug. "You didn't mean too. So I take it Professor Snape is your uncle?"

"Not by blood...but Father made him my godfather and I just call him Uncle Sev since he's like family...sort of. How come he doesn't seem to like you? Uncle Sev likes everyone!"

Harry and Ron both snorted simultaneously while Lavender burst into laughter and Hermione grinned. "Not quite, Draco. He doesn't like Gryffindors very much...and we're all in that particular house."

"But I want to be in Gryffindor," Draco pouted. "Does that mean he won't like me if I get placed here?"

"_You _want to be in Gryffindor?" sputtered Ron.

"Uh huh. It has red as one of its house colors...that's my favorite color. And I like lions!"

"You don't want to be in Slytherin?" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course not! Snakes are yucky," he shuddered.

The group exchanged glances before bursting into laughter. "I can't believe I just heard Malfoy say that!" laughed Ron, pounding his fists on the table while his face blew up red.

"My name's Draco," the boy murmured, not liking to be laughed at nor understanding why everyone except Hermione was calling him by his surname.

"We're sorry," apologized Hermione, a grin still on her face. "We didn't mean to make fun of you...here, why don't you have some strawberries." The girl placed a small pile on Draco's plate followed by a helping of buttered noodles and a glass of milk.

In small bites, the bright red fruits began to disappear under the watchful gaze of Hermione, doing her best to fill the role of a parent. Before dessert arrived Dumbledore stood up while McGonagall clinked a spoon against a glass for attention.

"I have one quick announcement before we bring out dessert," revealed Dumbledore, eyes twinkling mischievously. "We found that for all of you in sixth year who had the potions found they were grape juice, am I correct?"

General murmurs of consent followed Dumbledore's odd message before the hall quieted once more and attention was turned back to the headmaster.

"It seems that some of the potion's attributes were diluted in the chosen drink. As many as you saw earlier this evening, all of the students still have their memory completely intact. We realized that with the display by Mr. Malfoy and Professor Sprout."

Draco ducked his head, not sure why his name had come up in conversation but knowing it wasn't meant to be good while other students gave curious glances towards the seat the Herbology professor normally occupied.

Instead of seeing the rather plump witch, a child occupied the chair, bright brown curls framing her round face. On her plate were all kinds of vegetables grown from the school gardens. "Peas!" she yelled, waving a fork with the green veggie speared on the ends.

"Professor Sprout kindly tried out a small sample of the potion," said Dumbledore, a twinkle in his eye, "by complete accident. She should hopefully be back to normal sometime tomorrow since her dosage was so small. If you are in Hufflepuff and have a problem please take it up with one of your teachers during the time our dear Professor Sprout is unavailable. I also request that you do not inform your charge of the real them, understand? It will only complicate matters in the future. With a few final words we'll begin dessert. Tweel da doop. Dig in!"

The plates filled cakes and cookies for the students, the teachers having the option to eat theirs with dinner. "Now I understand," Hermione murmured to Harry once she was certain Draco was busy with a cookie. "He was asking about his parents, remember? It's because he still knows everything!"

"Guess what I got?" whispered Harry, a devious smile on his face. "I got a video clip of the heat table with the food from the start with the wine to the end with Mrs. Norris when Draco knocked everything over. I found a video record button on the camera," he said in answer to Hermione's unasked question.

"Whatever did happen to poor Mrs. Norris?" the brunette asked, looking around for the cat.

"Who cares? Did you see the look on Filch's face though?" butted in Ron, mouth full of chocolate pudding. "He looked like he was going to have a heart attack. They both left the hall after Dumbledore's announcement though since you're wondering."

After a few minutes the food disappeared from the plates and Dumbledore rose once more in his chair. "Congratulations to all of you for surviving your first day of school of the year," he smiled. "And alas, I must now say it's time for all of you to head off to bed. Prefects, a meeting will be held in a few days to talk about hallway patrols. Good night to all of you."

With final goodbyes to friends, students dispersed out of the hall for their dormitories, each looking ready to finish up homework from earlier and to talk to classmates.

For Hermione, Harry and all of the other sixth years though it was a different story. They got to put their child to bed...oh lucky, lucky them.

**Author's Notes:**

And there we have it, chapter two! n.n I hope my attempt at humor wasn't too bad...I tried, honestly. n.n Also, the reason I made Draco the child first was this. Most of you thought I was going to work on my D/Hr in the beginning but the way I see it, that won't work.

Draco would still be a cocky jerk and I really don't see how he and Hermione could get closer. By making him the child he'll remember all of the nice things they did for him and perhaps like them both better.

If you'd like to get e-mail alerts from me (if you're not a registered user) please leave your e-mail here and a little note saying you'd like to get alerts.

Arigatou for all of the wonderful feedback I got! It truly made my day! I was so excited I started on this chapter rather quickly!

I'd also like to give a small note on the update times...for this fic, and this fic only, it will be updated every sunday! So look for me then! As for my other fics, I'll get them up when I can. Ja ne!

**Reviewer's Comments:**

**LishaChan** You are like always the first person to review! It's kinda scary... Who couldn't love the deorating? Bright colors that clash are wonderful, savvy?

**samhaincat** That would be absolutely hilarious! I had a similiar idea and it's so kewl how we both thought about it! I already have the time, place, and all that other stuff for when little Mione asks. Thanx so much for your review! Hope to see you again!

**Mesentente** Ya know what's funny? Almost everyone said it was either Draco or Harry! lol I'm going to have a ton of fun doing funny and embarassing things to everyone...oh what fun!

**Spunx182** Here's more! Hope you like it and thanx for your review!

**Sage Raliegh Luna** Arigatou! n.n I hope to see you again!

**vampiress-kat** Wow! I'm impressed! Someone actually realized that Hermione would be probably the only one to say 'Oh my God' cuz Draco would go Merlin and Harry...I dunno what he would say. lol Well, as you see the grape juice had a problem so the parenting roles are a tad changed. But as for Harry, he'd most likely remember Uncle Vernon and gang.

**Laen** Thanx! n.n A whistle? Do you play an instrument? I'm a flute! n.n Almost everyone I talk to online though plays sax or trumpet....kinda strange, huh?

**Gertyke** He is so much cuter! I still laugh when I go back and reread the Uncle Sev part. n.n Sometimes, I just crack myself up. I'm in hysterics when I think of Hermione as a kid...that is when I am truly going to let loose!

**rockslutgothpunk** Really? What did they use for a child then? My health class is starting this unit soon...I think that's where I got the idea. n.n Some parts of the story will be a bit deeper into the characters but for the most part it is going to be humorus.

**ilovetom** I luv your username! You are talking about Tom Felton, ne? He is so hot! lol excuse my rambling. I can't wait to see him being bounced around as a ferret next movie!

**CircleOfStone** You got Hermione's personality pretty close. I'm not going to say what she's really like cuz it would spoil everything but it will be hilarious! I'm kinda portraying her off of my younger self...Hint: my parents said I was a little devil...

**Miss Becky Malfoy** Thanx! Hope to see you again!

**blackrosebunny451** It's Draco. n.n I wanted to make my fave chibi first b/c it made the most sense to go in the order I have planned. Thanx for your review!

**Ginny-W13** Nope, Mione isn't first but I wonder who will be second...lol guess everyone will just have to wait!

**LosOjosDeLaVida** I can for once say I update soon! I kinda like having a fic I can update on a normal basis. This fic isn't as hard to write as Black is Our World or other deeper fics where you really dive into the character. Glad ya like it!

**Halownkougra** I'm honestly not sure...I could go back and check but I'm too lazy. XD WNW is on hold...I'm still upset the file got written over and haven't gotten any enthuisam to go back to i. As for DS...I didn't get as many reviews as I wanted so I'm on strike. lol, actually, I'm kinda bored with the chappie I'm working on so I stopped. Horrible cliffies are wonderful! As long as I'm the one writing them. Ja ne!

**Bronwen **Humor is very good! I luv reading it but aren't that great at writing it...but if the reviews keep up like this it'll appear my humor is better liked then my angst. O.o I don't think the pic is bad! You did the body perfectly! I'm going to put the link on the next chapter of BOW so everyone can see it! n.n Really? I do feel proud then! Why did you stop? I remember the first HP fic I ever stumbled across was D/Hr and I thought it was the stupidest pairing ever...but my perspective changed considerably as you can see. lol

**Launigsiae** Here's the continuation! Hope to see you again!

**scarlet-knight13** Yay! Another person who knows some Japanese. My sister uses the term Abayo when saying good bye since we both think sayonora means good bye for a long time or farewell. My fave good bye is Ja ne, which means see you later. I was foreve saying Ja na, meaning see you then, until my dictionary finally corrected me! lol

**musicmaker** Yep, the key word is update. n.n I personally use the keyword as type since I can get lazy at times. I have the chappie planned out in my head...I'm just too lazy to get it up. School makes me really tired though and all the clubs I'm so I guess I have an excuse, ne? I start parenting class (with a loaf of bread, lucky me) in a lil bit in health. It is truly going to be a nightmare...

**Jacquie **Guess what?! I totally forgot about my grid project! I'm going to go work on that once I get this up! I'm such a baka! I didn't even realize it until I almost stepped on it! Yeah, I do get the whole 'You're talented' stuff, but I honestly don't mind. I suck it up like a sponge. Lisha is annyoed with me though, saying it is all going to my head. Especially when I randomly yell 'I am so great' to no one...well, yeah.

**Emma Lee18** Yep, Tobin was named after her although I never met the woman. My brain was just too fried to come up with a name that my spellcheck accepted. Sounds like you're busy! Hopefully we can get together next weeken! Ja ne!

**KageYoukai** Thanx. n.n Nope, I made Draco-Chan 't resist. lol

Your last comment made me totally crack up. I am so not going crazy! But then again...ya never know. At least I'm still sane enough to know I might be crazy, ne? Well, do you have drama this tuesday? Cuz I'll be there for a lil while! n.n And please leave me your email or email me! It's !

**JenniferJae** Draco! lol He's such a sweetie!

**OffWhite** Yep, it's my chance at writing humor! Have you noticed that most stories when people get chibi-fied they're always funny? It just struck me as odd. Hopefully I'm still holding your interest! n.n

**Lulu LABs23** Of course it is a chibi Draco! I'm finally getting to make someone chibi w/o people from Black Tears saying 'that isn't angst!' lol It's the first parenting fic I've ever read either...like normal, I try to make unique ideas that no one has. n.n Glad you saw the clue with the 'Oh my God' line. Draco wouldn't say that...he'd go 'Merlin' and I haven't a clue what Harry would say.

**Rhyet The Dark Angel** Fortunately, you didn't have to wait long! I luv my update stystem for this. It makes me happy cuz I realize I can actually put one of my fics out on a normal schedule!

**coffeentoffee** The 'ne' is quite catchy...know I'm doing 'Savvy' though...I swear, I'm going to start POTC fanfiction next! I'm absolutely mad with inspiration for Captain Jack Sparrow! lol Yep, the last line basically summed up everyone's thoughts! lol Yep, a very different writing style but it appears it is liked!

**Stormy Skies **Yep, knowing me it is Draco. I always have to make him the main focus, don't I? Although this story is going to be slightly challenging since I normally don't write much with Harry as a main character, do I? Thanx! n.n I've never met one save myself either. This is just my lighter half taking over for a while.

**BlueBabyAquaGirl** Of course Hermione should know about the conference room! She's a walking, talking encyclopedia of Hogwarts! Glad you think they're all in character...it took quite a bit of effort for me to make Draco sound evil...I'm so used to him having switched sides already.

**MokubaDoll** Mokuba is such a sweetie! The long hair really suits him! n.n Yep, no more angry reviews complaining about lack of angst! Now I'm perfectly set to go! Yep, I have added a lot...I've recently found an obsession with a few music groups and such...lol

**Ptrst **Well, I'm very glad you decided to read it. Out of curiousity, what did you mean by it kept popping up?? Yeah, I had a better summary but the stupid summary box can't fit it! Hope the reasoning in the Author's Notes made sense...I need Draco to actually have general respect for Mione before any relationship can develop. n.n

**Cedars** Well, I don't think I failed my geometry test....maybe I got a B! n.n I'm in honors classes and it's all a ton harder then what I'd like it to be! lol Yeah, I don't plan on doing individual POV's in this fic so I decided I'd best do some thoughts so everyone could see how each character reacted to the group. Parenting is going to be crazy, specially for a time when a certain one is a kid...but I'm not saying which! Thanx for your review!


	3. Bedtime

**Disclaimer: If you feel the need to say I am claiming ownership to Harry Potter you either A. need glasses or B. to kindly present me with J. K. Rowling's identity.**

**Parenting Class**

**Bedtime**

The small trio made their way back to the portrait of the jolly jester, currently talking rather animatedly to a monk clad in a brown habit, Leviculus never noticing how the bald man kept having to dodge his wild hands.

"Parvulus," Hermione announced, watching the conversation with slight interest. The jester made no movement to open the portrait nor did he acknowledge the group. "Ummm, Leviculus?"

"Oh, silly me, didn't see you three there," Leviculus chuckled, turning to Hermione while the monk scurried away to the safety of his own portrait. "In you go." He swung open and the three entered into the oddly decorated room, the door closing behind them.

"It's only seven," mused Hermione aloud, flopping down onto one of the pumpkin colored couches. "We should probably do some homework now and then we can put Draco to bed," she addressed Harry, the emerald-eyed boy collapsing next to her.

"And what's he going to do?" asked Harry, jerking his head towards Draco, the young boy standing silently next to the couch, eyes trained on red carpeting. "We can't exactly just let him run loose, can we?"

"Draco, why don't you go get one of your books from your room?" suggested Hermione, smiling gently at the blond. "You can read it out here while Harry and I do our homework, okay?"

"Yes, Hermione," he said, slipping away from the couch and disappearing into his bedroom.

"I don't get it," wondered Harry, "it's our first day back and we already have tons of homework! Aren't the first days supposed to be easy?" To emphasize his point Harry dropped his current assignments on the table, a resounding thud sounding in the piles wake.

"Lighten up, Harry," laughed Hermione, her nose already in her charms book. "It isn't too much...and we'll have a free period everyday in place of Parenting Class, right? You can get it done in no time if you just concentrate."

Grumbling beneath his breath, the jet black haired boy settled himself into a more comfortable position on the couch and picked up his Divination book, a scowl already on his face. "It's kinda hard to find joy in predicting my death," he muttered, flipping the book open to reveal charts of sorts.

"Then why don't you drop the class? I'm sure you'd find Ancient Runes or Muggle Studies much more enjoyable. Who wants to put up with that fraud anyway?"

"You might want to try," the boy-who-lived chuckled. "Remember what Tobin said? Some of our classes our going to be changed around...I bet you that you get stuck in Divination with me for the time Malfoy's a kid."

"Fine," she agreed, eyes glittering with a challenge. "If I win you have to promise to buy me a book every month for the rest of the year. If you win I'll do your homework for a whole week, assuming you're not failing the class. Deal?"

She stuck out her hand and Harry shook it, a devious smirk on his face. "You're going to regret that Mione...I predict that you will be forced to come." She groaned at his rather lame attempt of impersonating Trelawny and went back to her book.

The girl felt the couch sag next to her and turned to see Draco curled up in the corner, a book in his lap. "What are you reading Draco?" He held up the cover and she read aloud, "The Fairy Princess and the Eight Imps. Sounds interesting..."

For the next few minutes the room was relatively silent, the only sounds those of pages turning and the fire, which had started once they'd entered the room, crackling merrily away at the logs.

A dull thud disrupted that silence and Hermione looked over her book to see Draco sitting on the couch, his eyes wide with his storybook lying open on the table, a large ball of fur on the boy's lap.

"He won't bite," the girl assured Draco, smiling at Crookshanks. The ginger cat gave a contented purr as it nuzzled its head against Draco, the tip of his tail brushing against the child's pale cheek. "His name is Crookshanks."

Tentatively, Draco brought his hand and brushed it lightly across the cat's side, the purr rising in pitch. Slightly encouraged the Slytherin began to scratch behind the fluffball's ears, his sweet laughter filling the room.

Even Harry had to smile at the outward display of happiness, dimples appearing in each of his cheeks. Draco's laughter, as Crookshanks began to tickle the small boy with his tail beneath the chin, was contagious and soon Hermione and Harry both found their homework abandoned and themselves rolling madly on the floor.

Hermione, her breath coming in large gasps, was the first to recover from her now aching ribs and stomach, her face feeling stretched with a huge grin still upon it. Stumbling to her feet, the brunette managed to pick her enormous pet off of Draco's stomach and set him on the floor, the cat giving her a scowl larger than normal (if that's even possible with the squashed appearance of Crookshanks face) and curled up in front of the fire.

Draco stopped laughing next and went to go sit by the cat, while Hermione helped Harry to regain his breath, the teen having trouble getting any air into his lungs with the force of his laughter.

"He's such a sweetie," Hermione murmured, picking up her book from where it had fallen and settling back on the couch. "I almost wish we could keep him this way."

"Malfoy's certainly easier to handle when he's this small," agreed Harry, pushing his glasses back up his nose and sitting down next to Hermione.

"Draco, Harry," she corrected, giving him a swat to the head. "His name is Draco. Now get back to your work...it's almost seven-thirty and we should get Draco in his bath by eight and then one of us can sing to him and read him a story before he falls asleep."

"You mean we have to give the kids a bath?"

"Umm...yeah...unless you want him to start turning black with dirt...he's a kid, Harry," she said with a sigh, his blank stare still trained on her. "He'll get dirty and need someone to clean him up."

"It isn't him I'm worried about," Harry muttered, cheeks turning slightly red.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well...you're a girl."

"So? He's a little boy for crying out loud!"

"But when you're a kid..."

"I," Hermione said haughtily, "will give myself a bath when I'm a child, understand Harry James Potter? No one is to enter the bathroom while I'm in it, savvy?"

"Completely understood," Harry chuckled, the blush fading. "But what the heck does 'savvy' mean?"

"Haven't you seen the movie Pirates of the Caribbean?" Harry shook his head. "It's this movie where Captain Jack Sparrow, he's a pirate, always says 'savvy.' It kinda means, 'got it?' or 'understand?'. I love the movie and kinda just picked up on it."

"Uh huh." The duo turned back to their homework, happy that they'd gotten an obedient child. They couldn't help but feel bad for Ron and Lavender...Terry didn't seem like the easiest kid to handle.

A few seconds later, the sounds of happy laughter once more filled the room as Draco chased after the large ginger cat, the animal running away with one of the boy's socks. "Give it back, Crookshanks!" The tone was still light though, so Hermione knew there was no cause for alarm. If he'd been in tears she would have grabbed her cat, but Draco seemed to be having fun.

"Oomph!" The Slytherin crashed smack into Harry as Crookshanks darted underneath the couch and the boy plowed straight into his guardian. Harry knelt down next to Draco, surprised by the boy's reaction.

He let out a low whimper and flinched, turning his head so he wasn't looking at the emerald eyed boy. "Draco? You okay?" Harry asked gently, reaching out and resting his hand lightly on the boy's shoulder. Draco didn't answer, his tiny shoulders shaking slightly with suppressed sobs.

"What's wrong Draco?" Hermione slid off of the couch and knelt on the other side of Draco, before the need to hug him won over and she pulled him into her arms, cradling his small form against her chest. "What hurts?"

The brunette gave Harry a puzzled look when Draco merely snuggled deeper into her embrace, the older boy giving a shrug. "Nothing hurts," Draco mumbled after a few seconds into Hermione's shirt. "I'm okay."

He pushed himself out of Hermione's arms and rubbed the sleeve of his robe across his eyes. "Malfoys' don't cry," he murmured softly, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"There isn't anything to be sorry for, Draco," Hermione comforted. "Did Crookshanks scratch you? Where is that mangy cat anyway?" The ginger cat in question came out from beneath the couch and dropped a sock at Draco's foot before leaping into Hermione's arms.

"It's nothing, really," he said, placing a small smile on his face.

"Something is wrong," Hermione concluded, staring at the boy's face intently. "We just want to help, Draco."

"It has something to do with me, doesn't it?" asked Harry softly, his bright eyes peering into Draco's until the blond was forced to look down at the floor. "Did I do something wrong?"

"N-no," Draco hiccupped. "Can I go to bed? Please Hermione?" he begged, turning to look at the girl. "I'm really tired."

Hermione saw the act as a way of avoiding whatever was troubling the small boy, but she knew that they would figure it out in time. After all, he was going to be with them for two weeks...they were bound to find everything they had questions about then.

"All right then. But first you need a bath. Harry? Could you go get a pair of Draco's pajamas? Draco, you come with me." Without giving the boy a chance to protest, she picked him up and settle him on her him before turning and entering the bathroom.

No one had had a chance to look around the bathroom before, but it was quite obvious Leviculus _hadn't _decorated. Dark blue tiles formed a pattern with white across the floor and a lighter blue made up the wall paper border around the room.

A shower was in the corner of the room with a drain that closed so a bath was also possible. "How do you want the water?" Hermione queried, setting the boy on top of the toilet. "Warm, hot, or cold?"

"I don't want a bath," Draco said sullenly, swinging his feet. "Can't I just go to bed?"

"Sorry, but you're going to have a bath every night. It improves your hygiene to get into the habit and you also won't smell."

"But I don't want one."

Hermione blinked in confusion. Draco had been completely agreeable all day, but since that incident with her cat he'd been on his toes and quite evasive, strange for someone of his age.

"But you're going to get one," she said firmly, the bathtub now filling with warm water. "You can either get in the water agreeably or I'll put you in it myself. Which is it going to be?"

Like the stubborn brat he was acting like, Draco crossed his arms over his chest and stayed seated, the action reminding Hermione quite a bit of the Draco she knew of the present time.

"Looks like I'm going to you," she announced, rising from beside the tub. With purposeful steps she strode towards Draco and picked him up, the boy putting up quite a bit of fight.

First, he sunk his teeth into her arm and she yelped, dropping him to the floor to clamp a hand over her bleeding wrist. Draco took that moment to scramble for the door only to run smack into Harry for the second time that day as he came in carrying a pair of black pajamas.

"Get him, Harry!" cried Hermione, lunging for Draco. The boy backtracked from Harry and darted around Hermione, causing the two teens to crash into each other. "He won't take a bath!" the girl wailed over the sound of water sloshing over the edge of the tub as it reached its full capacity.

Draco skidded on the puddle of water and fell over into the water, a large spray of mist coating everyone. Slipping and sliding her way over to the bathtub, Hermione turned the faucet off and let out a sigh of relief.

The Slytherin remained silent in the bathtub, now just sitting silently in the corner, his head drooping onto his knees. Harry rose to his feet only to step on the bar of soap that had made its way onto the floor and down he went again.

Draco visibly shuddered as the ground shook with Harry's fall and Hermione once more wondered why the child seemed to be frightened of one of her best friends. Unsteadily, the boy-who-lived arrived at the bathtub, his hands grasping onto the towel rod for balance.

Dropping to his knees, Harry tentatively reached out and touched Draco on the head, a terrified shriek emitting from the child. "Since you're in the bathtub you may as well take a bath now," said Hermione quietly, pulling the drain to let some of the water leave the tub. "Let's get your clothes off," she said, reaching for the boy who only backed further into the corner.

Reaching out, Hermione forcefully dragged the tiny boy to her, now strangely subdued and quiet. Pulling the soaking wet robe off of his body, she let it drop into one of the puddles, the splash the only noise besides the gurgling of the drain.

The black tee shirt he wore beneath his robe was much harder to remove though, as it clung him like a second skin. After a few seconds of pulling and yanking, the garment came off, a startled gasp rising from the both teenagers.

A rather large blue and black bruise covered Draco's stomach where a smaller, healing yellow one was on his lower back. "What happened?" Hermione demanded, her voice as gentle as she could make it.

"I...I fell of out of the tree," Draco muttered. Both Gryffindors realized this wasn't true as their was a distinct image of a hand on the more recent bruise.

"Who did this to you, Draco?"

"I fell out of a tree," the boy repeated, his voice laced with tears.

"Your father did this, didn't he?" Harry mused aloud, eyes darkening. "The hand is too big to be Narcissa's...and it would explain why you're scared of me. You see me as your father at the minute, don't you?"

Hermione's eyes lit up as she realized she'd figured out the problem, but slowly they started to dim like Harry's, the honey orbs smoldering in unleashed anger at Lucius. "Is that true, Draco? Does your father really hit you?"

"He doesn't mean too!" Both Hermione and Harry were shocked at the sudden outburst of the small boy. "He was just angry and I got in the way," Draco said softer, eyes shimmering with tears. "My father loves me! I know he does!"

Giving Harry a sad smile, Hermione reached forward and plucked Draco out of the bathtub, the child automatically burying his face into her robes, the tears once more leaking from his eyes. "No bath tonight," Hermione whispered, rocking Draco in her arms. "Not tonight."

Rising carefully to her feet, the witch picked her way across the water strewn floor to the door, beckoning with her head for Harry to follow. The boy did so, picking up the pajamas where he'd dumped them on the counter, before exiting the room.

Hermione entered Draco's room and sat down on the bed, the small form still cradled protectively in her arms. Silently, she took the pajamas Harry handed her and dressed the boy, tears glistening in her own eyes.

"Neither of us will ever hurt you Draco," she said kindly, wrapping both arms around him in a hug as he leaned his head back against her, eyes warily watching Harry. "While you're with us we intend to make sure you're happy, okay?"

He gave a silent nod, followed by a tiny yawn. "Do you want to go to sleep now?" Another nod. Picking up the comforter, Hermione slid Draco beneath the blanket and tucked it in around him. "Good night, Draco," she murmured, placing a light kiss on his forehead.

"Good night," Harry echoed, flicking his wand at the waterfall. The water turned into a glowing silver as it fell, now a nightlight for Draco. The two left the room silently, leaving the door open a crack incase Draco needed them.

"Isn't it terrible?" Harry looked up and nodded, face in a frown.

"I thought living with the Dursleys' was bad...but they never hurt me like Lucius does. I mean, I did live in the cupboard but at least I wasn't beaten by someone you should be able to trust. Aunt Petunia always stepped in if things got to rough and Uncle Vernon would stop yelling."

"Do you think Lucius still does it?"

"I hope not...it's kinda strange, Mione. All our lives since we've met Malfoy we always wished he would possibly die or move away...but now that something terrible has happened, or had, I actually wish it hadn't."

"Me too...I guess Draco always just put up a barrier and that's why we've never been able to see what he's really like. Lucius probably made him do all of those mean things."

"Not meaning to change the subject, but can I see your Potions notes, Mione? Snape took mine when he found me doodling..."

"I think we should both go to bed and do homework in the morning." Harry looked at her, mouth agape. "What? I'm tired and we've had a long day."

"Never thought I'd see the day," Harry smiled, shaking his head. "Well, good night then." Rising from the couch he gave Hermione a hug and disappeared into his room.

Hermione followed shortly after, thankful to be sliding beneath her warm blankets to ward off the chill. "Tomorrow," she vowed, "we're all going to do something as a family...a real family."

A light knocking on the door sounded, and Hermione forced herself out of her coccon of blankets to open it. Draco was standing there, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Can I stay here, Hermione?" he asked, softly, hugging himself.

Without a word, the witch picked the child up in her arms and put him in her bed before snuggling up next to him. "Thank you, Hermione," Draco whispered, his hands clutching her nightshirt.

"You're very welcome, Draco. Good night."

"Good night, Hermione." After a split second, Draco gave her a hug and she hugged him tightly back. With a content smile on his face, the little boy fell asleep, wrapped securely in Hermione's arms, a place he knew would always be safe.

**Author's Notes:**

Gomen!!! I know, I know, I put in a small dosage of angst. Please don't hurt me! As said before, I naturally write dark! ::cowers::

I'm so happy! I got a B on my geometry quiz! n.n I'm in honors so this is pretty good! lol I also went back to my old hometown and saw so many of my friends this weekend! So I'm in a rather good mood!

Also, the POTC thing...I luv that movie and I keep saying 'savvy' around the house so I had to incorperate it somewhere, ne?

::huggles reviewers:: You guys are awesome! Hope you didn't mind the hug, I luv getting/receiving them! On Friday (when I saw all my old friends) I got hugged so many times I lost count! lol

Comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! Arigatou to you all! This is by far my most popular fic. But if you're looking for a good angst Harry Potter fic take a look at Black is Our World! It's a fave to write!

**Reviewer's Comments:**

**valentines-hater** Gomen! Looks like I updated before you reviewed! lol Thanks very much! Hope you enjoy the fic!

**LishaChan** Must we point those out? lol, although I seriously thought that was how you spelled chalice! Yep, who ever knew? Draco in red...that'd be interesting.

**Ginny-W13** I feel so bad for Mrs. Norris. She got a dish of food dumped on her. ::shudders:: Betcha glad sunday is here, ne?

**JeanMarie** Arigatou! n.n I'm glad you like it.

thanx! Very interesting username choice!

**Gertyke** Uncle Sev is adorable! We should hopefully be seeing more of him shortly! I just think it is so cute too! lol

**s n o g g i n g withdrawal** He is a cute kid! Wish my brother was still like that...lol now I have a brat instead of the adorable angel.

**BIGHARRYFAN** The best thing I think about this fic is you can always count on it to be updated sunday! So it means everyone will only be waiting at max a week for the next chappie!

**Elizabeth the 4rth** Yep, quite odd. But at least it is unique! n.n And as you said, hilarious!

**Ptrst** Gotcha! n.n Of course Mione will give him a happy childhood! Or she'd better...sneaking cookies was always fun at my house. I have a twin so one of us would distract my mom and the other would get the snack we wanted. I was normally the one who came up with the plans....some call me the evil twin. ::shrugs:: It's actually kinda a kewl nickaname.

**Spunx182** Thanx! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**excessivelyperky** Kewl! I'll have to check your forum out. Nope, I'm not a member but I do suffer (I think) from short term memory loss. Kinda like Dory from Finding Nemo but not that bad. lol Luv your username btw!

**Halownkougra** Yep, every sunday! Other ficcies...what ficcies? I don't have any others...lol, I'll try to work on them when I have time. I should actually be cleaning my room right now...now writing this but I think writing is much more fun then cleaning.

**raisa **I like seeing the other side of Draco too. I've noticed that when they're kids (based on animes I've seen where we go into the character's past) they're generally a lot more sensitive and more open with everyone. Guess I'm just using that knowledge! Hope to see you again!

**Noubliz** Electric babies? I believe my health class is going to be doing loaves of bread, lucky me. lol Thanx! n.n I really liked Uncle Sev...I mean, he has to have a soft side for his godson, right?

**DragonGirl-Chi318** I can assure you, friendship and more will be blooming when Draco comes back. I mean, I always try to make my fics DHr, a bad habit of mine. lol

**JenniferJae** ::gives you little Draco plushie:: That's the best I can do since I need the actual chibi here so I can write with him. lol

**Serenity **e-mail sent! n.n He is adorable!

**RougePriest666** Well, here's more! Hope you like it as much as the other chapters!

**ReeMarie Yukimo LeBeau** Or else what? lol, I'll write! I think my career is either going to be in writing or drawing...depends on which college takes me. lol Japanese culture is awesome! I have a kimono but my parents won't let me get a kantana or kunai...for good reason I assume! lol

**LatkeGirlie **He does seem almost human, probably cuz he isn't acting all cold like he normally does. I'm glad you think it is original. I try to make all of my fics like that. n.n

**KageYoukai** Arigatou! What were you expecting exactly? And yes, I do think cameras would Creevy was running around the school with one all year in the Chamber of Secrets. n.n

**samhaincat** I can't wait for my own little bro to figure everything out...he's in fifth grade this year and that's when the sex ed. talk is given. I'm going to be lmao when he figures out what all the 'girl stuff' under the bathroom sink is. hehe Yep, I'm quite proud of my Uncle Sevvy. I know a lot of people make Snape a godfather of Draco but he's always been older. I'm going to have to add more Uncle Sevvy based on popular demand! lol Hermione is really going to get into the mommy bit soon...and hopefully Harry now that Draco kinda realizes Harry isn't Lucius. n.n See ya next chapter!

Wow! That's like a compliment from you! So I'm not as crazy as you thought...I guess that is a good thing, ne? As for your question in Come What May, YYH is an anime show...it stands for Yu Yu Hakusho.

**ObsidianRaven** The food reminds me of Thanksgiving dinner a few years back at my aunt's house...my little cousin, Alex, reached for the jell-o and knocked over my dad's wine and it got all the way down the table to the turkey before it was stopped.

**Launigsiae** lol, there you are! Thanx! I know this chappie wasn't as funny but I kinda had to clear up some past events, right?

**Pia O'Leary** I'm quite curious myself...lol and I'm supposed to know! Another one of my bad up with the story as I write it. I mean, I have a plot down but the stuff in the middle...all imagination. lol

**sappjody** Well, here's another chapter...is that what you meant? In any case, glad you like the fic and thanx for the review!

**LosOjosDeLaVida** I'm glad ya could 'see it' I try to make it seem visual...I normally picture the scene as I write it...Snape with a red face kinda blanked on my brain though...I guess I just can't picture it!

**legesa **I'm always going awww, don't feel bad about cooing! lol The clumsy gene? I'm not sure if I've ever seen that one before in biology class. lol No one in my family acts the same so I guess we all carry the unique gene. Or maybe the short temper gene since we're always blowing up. Actually, that would be me and my mom. lol

**Irol **Glad it made sense, I don't want to confuse anyone! What do you mean by flashbacks? Simialar incidents with you? I can relate to the food catastrophe! lol It does make him seem more human...probably cuz Snape doesn't exactly come off as a nice name, huh? See ya later today then!

**rockslutgothpunk** lol, glad I could make someone laugh! And by the sound of it...you laughed a lot. lol My friends call me crazy so I guess weird isn't too far off. I think it has something to do with my anime obsession or something...or maybe how I just get over excited when I'm happy.

**scarlet-knight13** I wish my little brother was still that sweet...he's a ten year old brat now. Thanx for the review!

**CircleOfStone** Not Harry exactly, but Lucius would fit the position. I can so picture Draco with a 'what did I do' face too! He's so adorable I just want to huggle him and huggle him and huggle him and...

**Smileystar04** I am so stupid! Yeah, self-critisicim is bad but it's true at the sec! I had the whole week to write this and what do I do, I write it on Saturday and today! O.o I'm terrible! But at least I got it up in time! So happy! A drastic change from BOW. I guess my profession should be humor...seems like a lot more people like this fic!

**LiLbLueangeL1223** Thanx! n.n Tremendous, huh? A new word I can use! Yay! Thanx again!

**blackrosebunny451** I updated as soon as I could! Every sunday you can expect an update! Yay! lol I'm glad you like it! See ya later!

**Lulu LABs23** If you do, that would be awesome! The ferret- I mean Draco- hugging Snape! It'd be so kawaii! You are so right on with the Draco and his dad! Kinda of both situations in his life, abused and neglected. Poor, poor Draco-Chan. Hermione will make him feel loved though. n.n I loved the grape...my uncle choked on one once and my grandma was giving him the heimlich...quite odd to watch.

**ilovetom **Oki, not all of your email came through...so I sent it to that email at Yahoo, aol, comcast, and hotmail...hope it was one of those. If not, hope you can find the story!

**Bronwen **Look at my favorite stories list...Once Upon a Thyme is there! O.o I think the author was a bit full of herself in the summary when she said if you like reading good, long fics blah blah blah. But it was an excellent story! One of my first ones too! Well, I guess I've developed a talent for humor...a lot more people are reading this fic then BOW. Although the angst showed in this chappie...oops!

**Jacquie **Really? That's odd...the first chapter is always just introductory without much going on. But description is always going to be in every chapter! It helps to visualize everything for both authoress and reader!

**Yokai Cesia and Chi** Me too! I mean, I argue a lot with my mom but I seriously would have been a ton different if she didn't care for me. Here's the update!

**coffeentoffee** Took you a little while to review! then again, now you don't have to wait long at all for the next chappie, huh?

**BlueBabyAquaGirl** Silly witch, I don't think she should have taken a drink of anything in that short time, do you? lol Glad she's going back though! Can you imagine a child teaching class?

**MokubaDoll** I luv gobstoppers! Thanx for one! ::eats gobstopper:: Yum...a red one! I have a whole box in my room! O.o sugar high here I come!

**Stormy Skies** Yeah, I guess Harry was done pretty well in BOW. I mean, he sounded like himself up until the very end, right?


	4. Potions, Oh My!

**Disclaimer: Let's see...if I did own Harry Potter I would be rich. With my money, I would buy a huge Victorian style house surrounded by a large forest. I'd buy every single anime DVD my heart desired and I'd have a pool with waterfall in my backyard. But since I currently live in a suburban neighborhood with cornfields as backyard friends, we can all conclude I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Parenting Class**

**Potions, Oh My!**

Sunlight poured into the bedroom, dancing, golden rays lighting upon the two figures lying sound asleep in the large bed. With a soft moan, the girl sat up, holding a hand in front of her eyes to shield them from the bright light.

"Morning already," she mumbled. "You'd think someone would have come and gotten me up. Letting me sleep in...Mom knows she's supposed to wake me." Removing her hand, Hermione glanced around the room, eyes widening in horror.

It was decorated in the familiar reds and golds of Gryffindor, the quidditch field visible from her window. Like bricks, the reality of the day hit her. She wasn't at home. She was at Hogwarts. She had classes. Like the Potions class that had started ten minutes ago.

"HAARRRYYYY!" she screamed, jumping up from the bed, the little boy beside her starting with fright and looking at the girl with wide, silver eyes as she threw open her door and tore off down the hall. "HARRRRRRRRYYYYYY!"

"What is it, Mione?" the black haired boy muttered, exiting his room, and looking sleepily at Hermione.

"WE'RE TEN MINUTES LATE TO POTIONS! WHY DIDN'T YOU GET ME UP?" she shrieked, eyes glinting angrily. "WE'RE GOING TO GET DETENTIONS AND LOSE POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T GET OUT OF BED AND WAKE ME!"

"You didn't get me up either," Harry pointed out, attempting to remain calm despite the fact that he was probably going to be given detention for a month. "We're both equally at fault."

"THIS IS THE FIRST DAY! IT IS NOT GOING TO LOOK GOOD IF I SHOW UP LATE FOR CLASS ON THE FIRST DAY!"

A smile dawned upon Harry's face and he stood there, grinning at Hermione, only causing to make the girl even more furious.

"WHAT ARE YOU SMILING FOR! GO GET DRESSED ALREADY! WE HAVE TO GET THERE AS SOON AS WE CAN!"

"You forget what we have with us," snickered Harry.

"AND WHAT WOULD THAT BE?"

"Draco," he answered simply, the name rolling off his tongue quite easily. '_I guess it's easier to call Malfoy by his first name when he's a little kid... he doesn't act like Malfoy at all.'_

The same smile came upon Hermione's face and she turned back to her room. "I'll meet you outside the portrait in a few minutes," she called over her shoulder, before disappearing into her room.

Draco looked at the girl curiously, quite unnerved by the drastic mood change. "We're going to go visit Uncle Sev, okay Draco?" she said sweetly, plucking the boy off of the bed.

"Really? You mean it Hermione?" The witch nodded. "Thank you so much!" he cried, throwing his arms around the girl's neck. "I can't wait to see him again!"

"Just one catch Draco," Hermione said, setting the child down on his own bed. "When we get there, I need for you to pretend to be asleep, okay? And right after we finish Potions, we'll get you some breakfast."

"That's fine, but why do I have to pretend to be asleep? I want to see Uncle Sev!"

"Do you want to get me in trouble?"

"No..." he replied slowly.

"Then we can't let your uncle know we all slept in..."

The blond smirked, eyes lighting with mischief. "I understand," he laughed.

"Good. Now why don't you put these on," she said, handing Draco a set of clothes and a small robe, "and then go brush your teeth? Once you're ready we'll go."

Nodding, the boy took the offered clothes and Hermione left the room to go get dressed herself. Entering the bathroom after changing into her robes, she saw Draco standing on a little stepstool next to the sink, washing his hands and humming to himself.

"What's that you're singing?" Hermione asked, picking up her toothbrush and beginning to scrub at her own teeth.

"Dobby told me that I should sing the alphabet three times when I was my hands and four times when I brush my teeth. But I don't get how I can sing if I have toothpaste in my mouth."

"You have to think the song while you brush," Hermione responded, now running a comb through the child's hair, the bangs falling to rest just above his eyebrows. "Did you say Dobby?" she queried after a second's thought, remembering him mentioning the said house elf the day before.

"Yes. He's the one who took care of me most of the time. I wonder what he's doing now," the boy wondered, a thoughtful look on his face.

Hermione inwardly laughed with glee. '_We could take Draco down to the kitchens to meet Dobby! Of course we'd have to make him believe Dobby was visiting the castle for some reason, but it would be nice for him to see someone he knows besides Snape.'_

"Can we go visit Uncle Sev?" Draco asked, tugging on Hermione's robes impatiently.

"We're going, we're going," she laughed, scooping the boy into her arms. "Now remember, pretend you're asleep...once we've been in the room for a few minutes you can 'wake up.'"

Obediently, Draco closed his eyes and tucked his head into the crook of Hermione's arm, his face relaxed and arms hanging limply at his sides. Leaving the bathroom, Hermione slung he book bag over her shoulder and left through the portrait hole.

"You're running late," called Leviculus as the Hermione joined Harry and they set off down the hall at a steady pace. "Better hurry!"

"Is he still asleep?" Harry whispered, looking at the Slytherin.

In answer, Draco cracked open one eye and Harry jumped in surprise. "He looked like he was asleep!" the boy exclaimed.

"You'd make a good actor," commented Hermione, smiling down at the child. Draco smiled back before closing his eye again, once more the impression he was sleeping looking like the real thing.

The trio descended the stone steps leading down to the dungeons, a cold draft racing to greet them. "It's-c-colder then l-last year," chattered Harry, wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm.

"We s-should be b-better once w-we get by our c-cauldron," Hermione chattered back, her teeth clacking loudly together. Draco didn't move a muscle, though he dug himself deeper into Hermione's arms.

A few minutes later they all stood before a large, formidable looking wooden door, a polished black handle shining faintly. Taking a deep breath, Hermione opened the door and let them all in.

Eyes immediately turned to face the small group, some Gryffindors holding pity while Slytherins narrowed maliciously. "Would one of you care to explain why you are twenty minutes late?" Snape hissed, coming to stand before Hermione.

"We're very sorry, Sir," she murmured, glancing down at Draco. "But Draco didn't want to get up and we didn't really want to wake him...we finally ended up just brining him down."

Hermione saw the man's eyes flicker with a glimmer of happiness as he looked down at his godson, but when his eyes met hers once more, they were endless tunnels of black. "I see," he said softly. "In that case, please take your seats although you will lose twenty points for arriving late."

Murmurs rose in the class before the Potions professor glared at the student body and they immediately fell silent. "As I was saying before we were interrupted," Snape continued, throwing a glance at Harry and Hermione, "a Sleeping Draught is not hard to make for the average student, but be sure to follow the directions exactly. Instructions are on the board. Copy them onto parchment before you begin."

Hermione set Draco down on the child sized chair that Dumbledore had put in every class, the boy thankfully remaining unresponsive to any of the movement, Hermione's words firm in his ears.

Taking a quill from her large bag, the brunette began to copy down the instructions in flowing cursive, carefully dotting each 'i' and crossing each 't'. Next to her, Harry scribbled down the words in scratchy print, the letters blurring together in his haste.

"Ready to start, Hermione?" he asked softly, not wanting to attract Snape's attention.

She looked up at him, surprise on her face. "You mean you finished copying the instructions already?" He held up his paper. "Then go gather the ingredients please," she said, "if you can read what they even are," she said under her breath as Harry squinted at his list.

A slight noise to her left made the girl turn to see Draco slowly sitting up, his hands rubbing his eyes. "Good morning," he murmured, placing a hand over his mouth to hide the yawn. "Where are we?" he asked, looking around the rather dark room.

"Good morning to you too sleepyhead," Hermione giggled, completely amazed at the boy's acting. "We're down in Potions..." Curious, the boy looked towards the front of the room, a large grin feeling his face as he caught sight of his uncle.

Sliding off of the chair he wove between cauldrons, students smiling warmly at the boy as he softly apologized for bumping into them. He was so much different from the stuck up jerk they normally had to put up worth, hard feelings had been dropped almost instantly. And of course the fact they wanted to see what happened when the boy reached his godfather.

Sneaking up behind the man, Draco tugged on the black robes, smiling cheerfully up at the face of his godfather as Snape turned around. "Good morning Uncle Sev!" he bubbled, reaching his arms up towards the man.

Snape sighed, remembering what that meant. Bending down, he scooped his godson up in his arms, a bright flash illuminating the dully lit room, temporarily blinding everyone. The Potions master blinked several times, eyes lighting on Hermione who smiled back innocently, the only one who wasn't dazed.

Just at that moment though, the door to the Potions room burst open again and one person entered. "I'm sorry we're late Professor," said Blaise Zabani, a Slytherin. "But Pansy didn't want to come."

"I DON'T WANNA GO TO THE STINKY CLASS!" screamed a child, voice bouncing off the walls. Into the room came Neville carrying a little girl in his arms, the child flailing and hitting her guardian.

Her hair hung loose, seeing as neither boy knew how to fix it, and her robes were ripped in several places, the result of trying to pull them over her head. "Pansy!" exclaimed Draco happily from his perch in Snape's arms.

At once, the other Slytherin stopped moving and turned to look at the front of the class. "Draco! Put me down you idiot!" Neville all but dropped her, the girl kicking his shin. "DON'T DROP ME YOU STUPID OAF!" Neville only glared, nursing his shin.

Sweet once more, Pansy skipped up to the front of the room, students holding their breath to see what was going to happen now. Snape gently lowered Draco to the ground and backed away, not wanting to be in range of the girl.

Both children stared at each other, silver eyes meeting brown before suddenly Pansy launched herself at Draco, tackling the smaller boy in a hug. "Thank Merlin you're here, Draco," she sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she continued to lie on top of the boy, arms wrapped around him in a hug.

"Pansy...I...can't...breathe," Draco choked out, his attempts to push the girl off of him in vain.

"Oops, sorry Draco," she laughed, happy once more. She sat down on the floor next to him, Draco gingerly pushing himself up. "Do you have guardians too? Mine are really mean," she added, sticking her tongue out at Neville and Blaise. "They wouldn't fix my hair!"

"Hermione could do your hair," Draco offered. "She's one of my guardians...she's really nice." Hermione blushed while Pansy smiled at the girl.

"Could you please? I don't like it down like this."

"Ummm, sure. Come over here." Pansy got off the floor and trotted over to the Gryffindor, scrambling up into her lap and sitting perfectly still while Hermione pulled it back into a braid.

Draco meanwhile crossed the room over to Neville and Blaise, giving them each a solid kick in the shin. "That's for being mean to Pansy! And this," he added, kicking them once more, "is for coming to class late."

The whole class burst into laughter, the red faced expressions Neville and Blaise were displaying from being hit by a five-year old quite funny. "Settle down, all of you," scolded Snape. "Pansy and Draco, you can come sit over here by-"

Draco took off from glaring at the two boys and was by Snape's side a second later, smiling adorningly up at his godfather. "Can I stay by you Uncle Sev? I want to watch!"

A small smile tugged on Snape's face, and he picked his godson up, setting him down on his lap as he sat at his desk. "Well? What are you all looking at?" he demanded, all of the students watching him and Draco, smiles on their faces. "Get back to work!"

"Harry...can you start the potion? I have to finish Pansy's hair...please don't mess anything up..."

"Sure," Harry said agreeably, reaching for the dried spiders to put in.

Back at the front desk, Draco was twirling a small bottle of red goop in his hands curiously. "What's in here, Uncle Sev?" he asked, unscrewing the cap.

"Jellied rat eyeballs," the man said, mouth turning up at the corners as Draco promptly dropped it, eyes widening in horror. Unfortunately for the Slytherin, the bottle had been unscrewed from the cap and the contents spilled out onto the boy's lap.

"AHHH!! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!!" Draco screamed, bouncing out of Snape's lap and running around in circles, the mixture clinging to his robes.

"Accio Draco's robe!" Hermione called out above the din of Draco crashing into shelves and potion ingredients spilling onto the floor. The garment flew over the boy's head and into Hermione's hand, Draco stopping his wild running when he realized he no longer had the jellied eyeballs on him.

The whole room was deathly silent as Draco slowly approached Snape's desk, head hung down. "I'm sorry," he whispered, eyes fixed firmly on the ground. The thud of Snape's footfalls made the child quiver, though he remained standing.

Kneeling down on the floor before Draco, Snape pulled the boy into his arms. "I'm not mad at you, Draco," he murmured, tilting the boy's chin up so he was forced to look at the man's eyes. "Just an accident."

"Don't punish Hermione or Harry," Draco begged, "it wasn't their fault either." That had been the exact thought running in Snape's mind, but he bit it off. He wasn't going to punish the people who were watching his godson. And strangely enough, it appeared Hermione seemed to care about the boy quite a bit.

"I won't." Several students gasped, astonishment clear on their faces. Snape not punishing Gryffindors? Hell must have frozen over... Turning to the class, Snape said, "leave the potions for the day and please pick up the spilled potions. We'll finish this lesson on Thursday."

"Did I just hear Snape right?" Ron murmured to Hermione, bending down to pick up a still sealed bottle. "He said please...and he didn't punish either you or Harry."

"Draco's a good influence on him," Hermione smiled. "And since Draco asked Snape couldn't really punish us...his godson would be devastated."

"Can't believe I'm going to say this but...I wish I had Malfoy as my charge. Terry is a little pain in the," -Hermione glared at him, -"neck," Ron finished quickly. "I swear, I'm seriously going to be in the Hospital wing for part of this time. He's a little horror!"

"Draco's a unique child," said Hermione. "His mood can change rather quickly..."

"I still think Pansy beats all mood swings," said Neville, coming into the conversation. "She's as bossy as my gran! And she's five! Keeps going on an on about how Zabani and I aren't eating with proper manners and then she swichtes to crying because her potatoes got cold, and then she goes to laughing when Zabani stabs his hand with his fork! He got sent up to the hospital wing last night for emergency care," Neville added.

"Poor Neville," Hermione murmured sympathetically, giving the lanky boy a hug. "She really is a sweet girl...said thank you to me when I finished braiding her hair."

"Think you could teach me? Being kicked does not feel good...and Malfoy's got a pretty hard kick too!"

"Look at this," Hermione said, rolling up her arm sleeve. A small set of teeth marks were embedded in her arm. "Draco bit me last night cuz he didn't want to take a bath!"

"Zabani has a similar mark too," chuckled Neville. "That girl refused to take a bath...so she's getting one tonight whether she likes it or not. Say! Could we drop her off with you? Maybe you could gentle her out for one night? Please Hermione?"

"What do you say Harry?" Hermione asked, turning to her partner. "She could even play with Draco while we did our homework!"

"I guess so..."

"Great!" said Neville enthusiastically. "You can bring her back with you after dinner and then Zabani or I will come pick her up...where's your portrait?"

"Down the charms corridor behind the portrait of the jester. He'll let us know you're there, just let him know you're there to pick up Pansy. Oh, his name is Leviculus! He likes to be addressed..."

"Gotcha," said Neville. "Thanks so much, Hermione!" He gave the girl a kiss on the cheek and then went back to cleaning, Hermione smiling her pleasure. Several minutes later the room was clean, all the broken ingredients having been thrown out.

"For the remainder of the hour, read chapter one of your Potions Guide," instructed Snape, catching himself from saying please. It seemed having his godson around was beginning to run off on him...

"What are you doing, Uncle Sev?" Draco asked, peering into the cauldron Snape was brewing a potion.

"Creating a batch of Dreamless Sleep Potions for Madam Pomfrey," he replied, stirring the cauldron in slow, steady strokes.

"Can we help?" asked Pansy, clambering up on a stool next to Draco. These were the only two children who even had the nerve to get so close to the scary looking man. Terry was quite content to sit between his guardians, occasionally pinching Ron and laughing softly to himself, an innocent expression on his face when ever Lavender would look over at him.

"It would be best if you just watched," said Snape, watching the potion bubble.

"Can't we just put in one ingredient, Uncle Sev?"

Semi-reluctantly, Snape handed Pansy a jar of dried cockroaches. "Dump those in," he ordered fear for himself, the girl, and his potion brewing. But the bugs were put in safely, no bad things happening.

"Now Draco, put in the seagull feather," Snape said, feeling slightly light-hearted that nothing had gone wrong. The boy leaned over on his stool, the legs of the stool picking up off of the ground.

The feather had almost made it over the rim when the chair buckled from beneath him. _SPLASH! _Draco fell headlong into the cauldron with the feather, several students crying out in alarm.

Snape plunged his arms into the bubbling liquid and came out with Draco. Quickly, he checked for a pulse, relieved to find one. "Is he okay?" Hermione asked worriedly, fluttering next to the limp child.

"He'll be just fine," growled Snape... "might sleep for a few days, but he'll be perfectly fine." Hermione looked up at him, open mouthed while Harry chuckled.

"Looks like our job just got easier."

**Author's Notes:**

I seriously hope that was lighter then the previous chapter! I'm already planning next weeks! lol I've been oversleeping a lot lately so I guess that's where Hermione got thrown in. Thank Kami I have a three day weekend! Monday I get off cuz of Colombus Day. But I don't like the guy so I'll celebrate Indian Day! n.n

Thanks to you all for your wonderful feedback! It truly makes me the happiest I can get...well, add a bag of pixie sticks to the mix and I'd be perfectly delirious! lol

Remember, reviewing is good for the soul! lol

**Reviewer's Comments:**

**LishaChan** Yeah, quite strange. You must live on your computer 24/7 most of the time. lol I did read, nice update. n.n When are you going to do so again?

**valentines-hater** Well, people reviewed and I ended up with 125 for the first three chapters. lol, that is a lot!

**CherryBlossomAngel-225 **I try to make him adorable, n.n ::hands out a little Draco plushie:: Now you can have one to hold and cuddle! lol

**LoveSpell** Yep, poor little angel. I swear, none of my fics can ever be completly light...that little dark self of me seems to pop up in everything. lol I was actually a bit worried how people would take the last chapter...so I'm glad you loved it!

**Smileystar04** I never saw it in theaters! O.o I came home from the movies with my bf and my parents had rented it so I watched it then...and then I watched it the next day with Lisha and then the next day too! I got the hint! lol Updated it yesterday! As someone told me, angst is never bad. You can't always keep the same theme going the entire fic so a little break is necessary at times.

**blackrosebunny451** You're welcome. n.n Yeah, cute in the beginning, quite sad at the end. Hopefully most of this chapter was cute and light and funny. I also hope no one was too out of character. I've noticed in humor, authors and authoresses always tend to make the characters OOC.

**Bronwen **Ah ha! You were the one who said it! lol, see SmileyStar04's comment. XD That's oki. I'm really strange about my faves list...whoever is on there their story is finished (except for one, I just really luv it, very funny) and I must have loved it with all my heart. lol, Intruders (a yugioh fic will go up there once it is done!)

**CircleOfStone** The boys and Hermione...oh my, that is going to be fun. lol I should probably be practicing my flute at the sec, but since I have to update this today, I'll just do this now...lol ::gives you little Draco plushie:: hug him as much as you want, I don't think he'll mind.

**samhaincat** Wow! It's like I have another twin! Do we have an esp connection?? lol What I meant was, I was going to send Mione out on prefect duty and Harry was left alone with Draco..dun dun duuun... something's bound to happen, ne? I should probably have a DNA test done with my original twin...maybe you were switched with her at birth.

**Pia O'Leary** Harry will earn Draco's trust...(somehow, I have no clue at the sec. lol) Yeah, know that I go back and reread it he really didn't seem that concerened. Darn it, that isn't how I wanted it to come out..guess that's what I get for typing at ten at night. lol I've had a similar scene with the bathtub at my house...although it was my dog that caused all the mess. He didn't want a bath (hates them!) and my dad was trying to get him in the tub. What ended up happening was Psi Chi (my dog) kicked my dad, and they both fell in the water cuz my dad overbalanced...lol, it was hilarious!

**LiLbLueangeL1223** I'll update every Sunday! n.n I just love that word! See ya later, savvy?

**denise4** Yep, I try to make it so.lol, last chapter wasn't as sweet as this one though! Who can resist a chibi Pansy? lol

**Saiyachick** Dou itashimashite! n.n Ja ne!

**Gertyke** Angst is never bad. Gotta luv it! lol

**ilovetom88** lol, I wonder why it didn't come through. That's quite odd... glad you got an account! lol I'm really mad about my AIM name. Someone had IcyPanther so I had to be IcyPanther1 ::Growls:: that's my name! lol

**dan-lovr** Hi. Just to let you know, I update every Sunday. This is the only story that gets weekly updtes, most wait about a month to read the next chappie to a different fic. Yeah, Draco as the kid easily makes the most sense. n.n If your friends could review too that'd be great! If not, tell them I said thank you for reading neway! Just look for me on Sunday, I'll be here then. n.n

**charmedsisters** I'm quite curious myself what his reaction to being older again is going to be...I mean, what's he going to do when he realizes how nice Harry and Hermione were to him? lol, guess I'd better think of that since I'm the one writing it! Glad ya luv it so much!

**toriisen** Could the theme be...dark? lol, jk! Cute is definetly (and I know I spelled that wrong! Honestly, when am I going to remember how to spell definetly right?) the main theme of the fic. I needed a break from angst. lol

**rockslutgothpunk** ::huggles back:: Thanks! Yep, hugs r the best! I personally think it's kinda realistic (I mean, Snape and Draco in the books have similar personalities and you can basically conclude from that vision Harry saw of Snape's, that Snape didn't have the happiet childhood.) But don't worry, I'm not going into too much depth with it. I talk along with characters in movies too! Especially Soujiro in the anime series Rurouni Kenshin. My sister is always hitting me and yelling for me to be quiet. They just don't appreicate the funness of lip syncing with the characters. lol The fic is mostly going to be light and happy! I mean, there might be a few more serious parts (that's why it's under drama second genre) but for the most part I'm keeping it humorus!

**LosOjosDeLaVida** Well, that wasn't my goal...oops! But I was tearing up a tad when writing that scene. Poor little Draco.

**Blueflamerose** ::hands you little Draco plushie:: sorry, ya can't have the real one since he's in the fic, but hopefully you can now smother the plushie in hugs and kisses! lol I want one too! Too bad I can't pull him out of the fic either.

**Raisa **To me, that's what savvy sounds like whenever Jack said it. Yeah, working a little dark does make it seem more dramatic.Glad ya like it!

**ucojen** I am proud to say, I try to keep all my fics ideas original! If you just keep repeating the same idea someone's used before it gets rather boring (I think so at least) I'm glad you think it's funny. Since dark is more me, compliments like that really make me happy!

**GirlWaterShaman** Yep, a tad of foreshadowing there. n.n I mean, I always foreshadow. Cuz if you just spring something out of nowhere it makes no sense whatsoever. I luv that word! whatsoever! lol I take it you know some Japanese with the -chan ending? I'm curious, if a girl is like a teenager, is she ever call -kun? I thought that was just for boys but in Fruits Basket, Tohru is called Tohru-Kun several times. Just curious...maybe it's cuz Tohru is normally a boy's name?

**Kathe **::hands you little Draco plushie:: that's the best I can do! I need the origanal bishie for the fic! lol

**scarlet-knight13** I feel kinda bad for him in this chappie too...jellied rat eyeballs? Eww, gross! I would have had a very similar reaction to Draco if I'd gotten those on me! lol My friends don't get it...I luv snakes and spiders but if I see a honeybee I run away screaming...mice and rats are cute too! I'm trying to convince my mom to let me have a ferret (it's going to be white and I'm naming it Draco lol) but she says no way. T.T

**DotsCandy** Yep, Harry and Hermione will both be written as children too! I want to have fun with everyone!

**KageYoukai **I never thought of it that way. lol I guess a little angst could be considered more under drama! lol Nah, I make Draco my little cutie...cuz once Hermione's little all of Hogwarts is in big trouble...

**BIGHARRYFAN** Thank you! n.n Here it is!

**JeanMarie** lol, there I go playing with characters emotions again. lol But it really did catch you...I loved the one line of Draco's where he said his father did love him. Teared up a bit there...Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

**Spunx182** The spelling looks right to me..ah heck. Who am I to talk? I still can't spell definetly. Nope, that looks wrong. lol He is quite vulnerable, he's so almost...shy? quiet? polite? I really don't know what word I'd use to describe him. My little brother still luvs to snuggle with me at times...it's a bit hard seeing as I only have a twin bed and he's ten yrs old! lol, he pushed me off one night and I ended up sleeping on the floor!

**Alenor** I would luv to have a waterfall! You can even look at the disclaimer, I mention one there. I just luv waterfalls and trees, lots and lots of trees! Unfortunatley for me, I moved to a farming town almost two years ago. T.T Barely any trees out here.

**Meg** Hope this was soon! I luv writing this fic so I'm pretty positive I'll always get it updated on Sunday! What's funny is I typed the whole thing yesterday! And now I have pulled muscle in my neck to show for it. lol

**RougePriest666** Arigatou n.n I loved this chapter personally. Oversleeping is what I do on school days but on weekends I'm always wide awake at six! I hate it! lol

**!Matt! **I noticed that the ! mark doesn't come up so I've started putting your name in with it. Yeah, tis a bit of a sad fact...you'd never guess I wrote dark stuff based on my outward personality, would you?

**coffeentoffee** Aww, poor Coffee. Yes, I thought the monk was quite funny! It reminds me of a AMV I downloaded with a scene from Yugioh! lol

**Stormy Skies **Were you oki? I hope so! Bathtime is always fun! Can't wait to see Pansy over with them tonight!

**HM ** Truth be told, I wasn't really planning on making Harry all depressive...it would take a lot away from the humor. Although maybe I could incorperate a bit with Sirus...it would make it more realistic.

**BlueBabyAquaGirl** Oooh, that' d be funny! You could see her the next day standing by dead plants and crying...although it wouldn't really be funny, would it? He will, shortly! n.n

**MokubaDoll** Well, now the box is gone. T.T ::Sniffle:: I ate them too fast. She and Harry will cheer him up, just keep reading! lol


	5. A Visit to St Mungo's

**Disclaimer: The colored pencils are mine! The paper is mine! The plushies are mine! (unless I give you one XD) The Mountain Dew is mine! All mine! But Harry Potter? That isn't mine.**

**Parenting Class**

**A Visit to St. Mungo's**

"But...but..." Hermione stuttered, looking down at the sleeping boy. "We need him to wake up! He can't sleep for our project." Turning to Snape she asked meekly, "How long do you think he'll be asleep, Professor?"

"I'd say about a week," The Potions teacher answered, a glare directed at the innocent cauldron half-full of Dreamless Sleep Potion.

"Oh no! Oh nonononononono," Hermione muttered, yanking on her hair, distraught expression on her face. "This can't be happening! It can't!"

"What's so bad about him sleeping, Mione?" Harry asked, quite puzzled. The way he saw it was Draco could simply be left in their rooms fast asleep for the next several days. And they could enjoy a quiet few days.

"We're supposed to interact with him! See what he does! It's our job as a parent, Harry! And if he's asleep we can't do that! And what's worse...this is considered an accident...and we weren't able to do something about it meaning we're irresponsible!"

"That's correct," Snape said icily. "I will be forwarding a note to Professor Tobin unless you manage to do something to fix this problem." Hermione and Harry's faces fell, as the realization they might fail Parenting Class came down. "However, I will let you leave class early to visit Madam Pomfrey. She might know what to do."

The fallen faces turned to disbelief and shock, Hermione's bordering on instant happiness. "You are so lucky you got Snape's godson," Ron muttered softly to Harry, who nodded and started to pack up his books.

Hermione joined her two friends a moment later, Draco securely in her arms. Harry, as the gentleman he should be, took Hermione's bag and draped it over his shoulder, tilting to the side and falling over immediately.

"God Hermione! What do you have in here? Bricks?"

"I do have one," she admitted, standing next to the cauldron while Harry picked himself off the ground, dropping his own bag on his left side, hoping to even the weight out. "I needed it for Ancient Runes," she defended, seeing the class's open stares. "We were going to try and carve our own."

Ron burst into laughter, and shortly the whole class, save Snape and Hermione, were in hysterics, clutching their sides as laughs rolled from their mouths, stomachs aching from the force.

In exasperation, Hermione shifted Draco so he was sitting on her hip, grabbed Harry's ear and dragged him, still chuckling, from the dark classroom. "It isn't that funny," she grumbled as they walked up the stone steps, Harry still snickering softly.

"It doesn't look like the class thought that."

"..." After a few more seconds Hermione said, her tone more serious, "Harry? What are we going to do about Draco? What happens if Madam Pomfrey can't wake him up?"

"Then I guess we'll just get a T in the class." Hermione's lower lip trembled and Harry sighed. "She'll fix him, okay? That woman can do almost anything!"

"But what happens if Draco isn't in the almost? If his case is in the not able? Then what?"

"You need to relax, Mione," Harry murmured. "Do you want me to take Draco?" The girl's response was to hug the child tighter, her tears dropping into the blond hair. "He'll be fine, you'll see."

The duo reached the Hospital Wing a few minutes later, Draco still sleeping though Hermione had hoped beyond hope he would have awakened. Pushing open the doors, the two could only stare in shock at the scene before them.

Out of the twelve beds, eight occupied small children, most attempting to get out and play with the bottled medicines across the room. The medi witch was frantically trying to put the children back in their beds, while 'parents' assisted in any way they could.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Harry shouted over the noise the kids were making.

"ACCIDENT IN HERBOLOGY!" a Ravenclaw yelled back. "SOME FLOWER BUD EXPLODED AND ALL THE KIDS STARTED TO PASS OUT! THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME KIND OF CHEMICAL IN THE PLANT!"

"My poor flower," sobbed a brown haired girl, curls framing her face. "It just went poof...just like that," she demonstrated, clapping her hands together. "Poof."

"WHO WAS TEACHING HERBOLOGY?" cried the nurse over the din. "PROFESSOR SPROUT IS SUPPOSED TO BE OUT!"

"THE LITTLE GIRL RIGHT THERE," shouted a black haired boy, pointing at the little brown haired girl. "SHE WAS IN THE CLASS AND SAID SHE WAS TEACHING IT!"

"THAT'S PROFESSOR SPROUT!" screamed Madam Pomfrey, making her way over to the girl. Just as she was about to pick her up, the child turned into the jolly Herbology professor, a puzzled expression on her face. Then, she seemed to remember and rushed about administering a bright yellow potion to each child.

In mere seconds, the room was quiet, all of the noise vanishing as the kids fell asleep. "Poison Poppy," the professor said cheerfully, tucking the vial back in her robes. "Effects are only noticeable on children. They tend to lose part of their hearing and in turn will shout louder to hear themselves heard. They'll be back to themselves in to time. Class, if you'll take your charges and follow me we'll finish cleaning up the green house."

Silently everyone followed, the medi witch leaning weakly against one of the empty beds. "What just happened," she wondered to herself, shaking her head. "No matter. What do you two need?"

Hermione blinked, realizing they were the only ones there. "Draco fell in a cauldron of Dreamless Sleep Potion," she hesitantly said. "We were wondering if you knew how to wake him up."

"Set him on the bed," the nurse ordered, picking up a pillow from the floor and tossing it onto a mattress. Obediently, Hermione placed Draco down on one of the still made beds, settling herself down next to him.

"You said he swallowed Dreamless Sleep Potion...was the potion finished?"

"Yes," Hermione answered. "The last ingredient needed was a seagull feather...that was the item Draco put in. And since it only needed to touch the potion we all know Draco would only have gotten the effects of the desired potion."

"About how much do you think he drank?"

The two teens looked at each other. "Umm...no clue," Harry muttered, cheeks tingeing pink with embarrassment. "Snape said he'd be asleep for about a week if that's any help," he added.

"A week? Then I'm afraid I can't help," the nurse said, shaking her head. "I can get rid of effects up to two days long in case of the user taking too much, but a week is out of my control."

"But what about Draco? Our grade?" exclaimed Hermione. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

"If you get Professor Dumbledore's permission he may allow you to visit St. Mungo's. They might be able to help you there. If they can't, then Mr. Malfoy will simply be sleeping for several days."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Harry said quickly, rising to his feet and slinging the book bags back onto his shoulders. "We'll do that." Soundlessly, Hermione picked Draco up and allowed Harry to lead her from the room.

"What happens if St. Mungo's cant fix him?" she queried, eyes bright with tears.

"They're a famous Wizarding hospital...they'll wake him up," Harry assured her, although he had his doubts as well. "By any chance do you know Dumbledore's newest password?"

The two were standing in front of the unmoving gargoyles, the hidden passage to the headmaster's office. "Not a clue."

"Peanut butter?"

"You airhead!" giggled Hermione, "that isn't even a candy! It's a flavor!"

"Then why are they moving?" Sure enough, the two stone statues had sprung apart to show a revolving upwards staircase that led up to Dumbledore's office."

Hermione thought a minute, biting her lip. "Is airhead a candy?" she asked after a pause. "Because 'you' certainly isn't and neither is peanut butter."

A delighted grin lit up Harry's face. "Airheads are one of Dudley's favorites," he said, stepping onto the staircase. "They're really chewy and have fruity tastes. How could you not have heard of them, Mione? They're one of the best!"

"Well let's see...my parents are dentists, Harry. Chewy candy is not on their list of foods to buy," she remarked sarcastically. "Come to think of it...I never really had any candy until I came to Hogwarts."

"But what about Halloween?"

"We gave out apples and I got to give all of my candy to my neighbors," Hermione grumbled. "I hated that holiday! Until I came here that is...at Hogwarts I can eat anything I want; I just make sure to brush really well."

Before the conversation could be carried further, they arrived at the doors to Dumbledore's office. Harry opened the door and the Gryffindors entered, Dumbledore smiling at them from his desk.

"Is there something I can do for the two of you?" he asked pleasantly, before also saying, "would you like a lemon drop?" Hermione shook her head but Harry eagerly took several.

"Yes Sir, we do need a favor," murmured Hermione. "Draco accidentally drank quite a bit of Dreamless Sleep Potion and we can't wake him up. Neither can Madam Pomfrey. She said that if you allowed it we could take him to St. Mungo's."

"May I see Mr. Malfoy for a minute?" Harry had to pry the child from Hermione's arms, the witch not wanting to let go, and placed Draco in Dumbledore's. "So small," Dumbledore said softly to himself, rocking the sleeping boy. "So innocent..."

The man sat in thought for several minutes, just rocking Draco. "Ummm, Sir? Are we allowed to go to St. Mungo's?" questioned Hermione, arms feeling empty without the child nestled in them.

"Hmmm. Oh, of course." Handing Draco to Harry, who quickly passed him to Hermione, Dumbledore dug through his desk drawer and came out with a small, deep purple card engraved with a golden cursive 'H'. "This will grant you leave from the school to St. Mungo's," the headmaster said. "Once Mr. Malfoy has been taken care of please do return to the school."

"Thank you very much," Hermione said gratefully, rising to her feet. "Should we just floo from the fireplace?"

"Please do," replied Dumbledore, gesturing the one across the room. "And you may leave your books here...I'll have someone bring them back to your dorm rooms later." Harry gave a relieved smile and followed Hermione over to the fireplace, card in hand.

Balancing Draco on her hip, Hermione took a pinch of the emerald powder and threw it on the heart. Green flames sprang up and she nimbly stepped inside. "St. Mungo's!" In a puff of smoke, Hermione disappeared, Harry soon after.

"Hello and welcome to St. Mungo's," greeted a friendly voice over the intercom. "You've arrived in the floo room. If St. Mungo's is your destination, please continue on through the doors to the right. Thank you and have a nice day."

Boldly, the two Gryffindors exited the wooden doors to enter a bustling lobby of wizards and witches. A child with elephant ears attached to his head was crying loudly while a girl was flying around with wings attached to her back.

"We're going to the third floor," Hermione said, reading a large sign hanging above the information desk. "Come on." The two set off for a large flight of stairs. Huffing and puffing, they found themselves on the third floor a few seconds later.

"Harry! Hermione! My goodness, what are you two doing here?" exclaimed a woman running over and pulling both teenagers into a hug.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said politely, returning the hug. "We're here because of-"

Hermione never got to finish her sentence because that was when Mrs. Weasley noticed Draco. "Merlin! You had a baby, Hermione?" Her gaze flicked over to Harry before she yelled out, "and Harry's the dad!"

"That is-"

"When did this happen! Do your parents know Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley cried, shaking the girl by her shoulders.

"But we-"

"And Harry! Not having protected sex! Shame on you!"

"THIS ISN'T OUR KID!" Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs, face bright cherry red as people looked on at the argument. "WE'RE HIS TEMPORARY PARENTS!"

"Oh..." Mrs. Weasley blushed to match her hair. "I'm sorry dear." Turning to the crowd the woman exclaimed, "What are you all looking at?" Shooting curious glances at the red faced duo, the crowed wandered back to their daily activities. "Who's child is that then?" asked the woman.

"We'll explain after we get him some medical treatment," sighed Hermione. "What are you doing here, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Didn't Ronald tell you? I'm working at the hospital part time...seeing as all of my angels are in school or at work I see no reason to stay home all day. What are you two doing here then?"

"We're his temporary guardians," Hermione murmured, "and he had an accident today in Potions. We were told to bring him here to see if we can get help."

The trio walked up to a small desk in the middle of a room. "Excuse me," Hermione said, "but could you possibly help us?" A young woman rose from behind the desk and walked around, short red hair tucked behind her ears.

"What's wrong with the little guy?" she asked, taking him out of Hermione's arms. Draco sighed in his sleep and gripped the nurse's shirt sleeve. "Is he yours?"

"No, we're just watching him at the moment," Harry said. "He swallowed a lot of Dreamless Sleep Potion this morning...we were wondering if you could do anything to help."

"Let's get him to a room," the woman said, her nametag reading 'Sarah'. She led them into a small room off to the side and set Draco down in one of the beds. "I'll be right back with Healer Tyson," she said with a smile.

Hermione sat down on one of the chairs next to the bed and took one of Draco's tiny hands in her own. "This is our charge for two weeks," the girl said softly to Mrs. Weasley. "Dumbledore put each sixth year into groups of three. One of them got transformed into a five year old child with memories only up until their current age. This is our partner. Any guesses?"

Mrs. Weasley's brown eyes narrowed in concentration as she looked over the tiny boy. "What's his personality like?" she asked, trying to depict who the teenage form of the child was.

"He's very polite," Hermione said with a smile, "and very sweet. Also he doesn't mean to, but he's always causing little accidents. He's quiet and tends to be shy. He's also one hell of an actor!"

"Language, Hermione," reprimanded Mrs. Weasley. "I honestly haven't a clue...did he come from a magical background?" Harry nodded. "He acts like Charlie when he was younger but of course this isn't him...and the only student your age at school with that hair color is Draco Malfoy."

"That's him," Hermione laughed, a horror stricken expression crossing the older woman's face. "He's so adorable as a kid, Mrs. Weasley. You can't help but love him!" And that's how Sarah and Healer Tyson found the group; Harry laughing, Hermione hugging Draco, and Mrs. Weasley staring at Hermione like she'd gone completely insane.

"Ah hem," Tyson coughed, effectively getting the group's attention. "I'm Healer Tyson," he said cheerfully, holding out his hand to Harry, who shook it. "Sarah was telling me your charge had a bit of an encounter with a Dreamless Sleep Potion. Would you mind answering some questions for me?"

"Of course not," Hermione said, holding Draco on her lap.

Tyson magicked a clipboard and set it on his lap. "All right then, what's his name, age, and birthday?"

"His name's Draco Malfoy," Hermione said, "he's five years old, but I haven't a clue what his birthday is."

Sarah and the healer looked at each other strangely. "Miss-"

"Granger," Hermione filled in.

"Miss Granger," Tyson continued, "our records clearly state that Draco Malfoy just turned sixteen; his birthday ison June fifth."

"Well, it's kinda difficult," Harry stated. "At Hogwarts, we're in a class and one of three group members was turned into a child...Draco really is sixteen, but at the minute and for about the next two weeks he's only going to be five."

"In that case we'll just write a new diagnostic sheet and clip it to his normal one," Sarah concluded.

Tyson nodded and continued his questioning. "And what might your names be?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Harry Potter."

"I'm not with them," Mrs. Weasley said, "I work here and just came along. But the name's Molly Weasley." It was all written down neatly on the clipboard.

"How much would you estimate he drank of the Dreamless Sleep Potion?"

Hermione sighed. "We honestly don't know...Professor Snape said he'd be out for about a week."

"I see. Well then, we'll just get some of his measurements. Why don't you two head up to the fifth floor and get some lunch? It's almost one! You must be famished!"

"It's that late already?" Hermione glanced at a clock and was surprised to see that Tyson was right. "We'll be back in a little bit, okay Draco?" Planting a soft kiss on his cheek, Hermione left the room followed by Harry and Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm so glad! I think they'll be able to help Draco!" Hermione squealed, twirling down the hallway. Unfortunately, the girl wasn't watching where she was going and was now on the very edge of a staircase. "In just a few hours he'll be good as new!"

"Hermione! Don't step-" the girl's foot slipped off of the top step and she fell with a scream. -"backwards," Harry finished with a sigh. Then realizing his best friend had just fallen down one of the staircases he started to scream for help, Mrs. Weasley running down to see Hermione.

Healers rushed from almost every room to gather around Hermione, the girl lying still. "She's alive," one of the younger healers said joyfully. "Just suffering a broken neck. Don't worry," she comforted, seeing Harry swaying on his feet, "nothing we can't fix."

With easily seen practice, Hermione was levitated onto a floating stretcher. "Could you two please come with us? We need to ask you some questions..."

Two hours later, Harry sat miserably next to a still sleeping Draco, head in his hands. Hermione was currently getting her bones pieced back together and wasn't to see anyone for several more hours.

He supposed he did have one thing to be thankful for. Hermione had been injured in a hospital so getting her care was easy. One of healers had said that if he or anyone else besides a healer had tried to move Hermione, they probably would have permanently paralyzed her.

Healer Tyson had informed Harry that they'd given Draco a potion and if they were right in the amount of Dreamless Sleep Potion he'd taken, the Slytherin would be awake by about five.

"Hermione will be just fine, dear, don't worry," Mrs. Weasley assured Harry, giving him a side hug. "She's in good care."

"I know...it's just that I want her awake and healthy when Draco gets up...he's more comfortable around her. Not seeing Mione might frighten him even more then he normally would be."

"The healers say Hermione should have her neck repaired in about two hours, right? She should hopefully be up before Dr-" Mrs. Weasley was cut off as a door slammed open, a frantic looking Lavender standing in the doorway.

Upon seeing Mrs. Weasley, she ran over and hugged the woman, tears pouring down her cheeks. "I am so sorry," she sobbed, "I didn't know he would do it!"

"Lav? What are you doing here?" Harry asked, confused by the appearance of his distraught classmate.

"It's Ron...Terry...potion...hand...it was terrible!"

"Is she making any sense to you?" Mrs. Weasley whispered to Harry. The boy shook his head.

At that moment, Sarah entered. "Looks like you already heard, huh?" she asked, a grin on her face. "Molly, your son is down in room one fifty-eight on this floor."

"Who? Ronald? What happened to him?"

"You mean you don't know?" She shook her head.

"Terry did it," Lavender said softly, rubbing her eyes. "He's the little kid Ron and I are watching...he got a hold of flesh repellent...we haven't a clue how since he must have taken it out of Professor Snape's private storerooms. Anyway, he dumped it on Ron's hand...he's in here for emergency skin regrowth."

"My poor baby!" cried Mrs. Weasley, dashing from the room and down the hall, Lavender and Harry following.

"Umm, Lav? Where is Terry?" asked Harry quietly.

"He's right...here. Oh no!"

"I'll help you find him," Harry volunteered, already imaging the disasters Terry was causing around the building. "How do you propose we search?"

"AHHHHHHHH!" A scream tore through the air and the two froze.

"Follow the screams," Lavender suggested wryly before pivoting and turning in the direction of the yells.

The two turned the corner and ran down a flight of stairs, coming face to face with a horde of pixies fluttering about. The electric blue imps were pulling portraits off walls, pulling people's hair, ripping papers up from inside the rooms. And in the middle of it all, Terry sat laughing while the pixies fluttered around.

"WHY THE HECK DO THEY HAVE PIXIES IN A HOSPITAL?" screamed Harry, Lavender shrugging in reply. "IMMOBILUS!" Harry shouted, the creatures instantly freezing.

"Terry! What were you thinking?" Lavender moaned, pulling the boy into her arms and shaking her head. "What am I going to do with you?" The boy smiled cheekily up at her and the girl let out a groan of frustration. "I wonder how your parents put up with you."

Hospital staff came out of hiding and began to stuff the pixies back into large metal cages. "I'm curious," said Harry, approaching one of the healers, "what are pixies doing here?"

"We've been studying them," the aid answered, closing the lid. "Several of our head healers believe they might have healing qualities to some plant poisonings so we've been examining them. Somehow, they got out..."

"Thanks," Harry quickly said before joining up with Lavender and leaving the site. The two trudged to Ron's room to find a weeping Mrs. Weasley squeezing Ron. The Gryffindor was patting his mother awkwardly with his good hand.

"Hey, Ron," Harry greeted, "how are you feeling?"

"Not to bad actually...it just kind of tingles...look." He held up his hand, the bone the only part on it besides a thick green paste. "This goop is supposed to be my skin...it'll start to form in a few hours...but I'm supposed to stay the night here."

For the next two hours the three Gryffindors talked, Mrs. Weasley going back to her hospital duty and Terry sitting in the corner, thankfully coloring quietly. "So where is Hermione?" Ron asked, looking around for his other best friend.

"She broke her neck...currently getting fixed," Harry smiled. "It's a good thing we were here when she broke it."

"How?"

"She fell down a staircase."

"And how's the kid doing?"

"Draco? He's...shit! He should be awake by now! I've gotta go! Hope ya feel better soon Ron!"

Sprinting out of the room, Harry slammed into a figure about to enter. "Is this the kind of greeting I get?" came Hermione's muffled voice from beneath Harry. "I swear, you might have just broken it again!"

"Sorry, Mione," Harry apologized, pulling his friend to her feet. "How are you doing?"

"I was fine until you knocked me over. But I'll be okay...just a bit sore. How's Draco?"

"I don't know! Ron was here and I went to talk to him and-"

"Ron's here? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. But Draco probably woke up...and neither of us are there!"

Like professional racers, the two tore down the hall to Draco's room, the door slightly ajar. Throwing open the obstruction, the two gasped simultaneously as they saw the empty bed.

"Oh no...now we've lost him." Dejectedly Harry sank onto the bed while Hermione stood in the doorway. "We have to go find him, Harry! Come on!" Grabbing her friend by the arm, she literally dragged him from the room.

For over an hour they scoured the building, looking in every room (and being chased out of several), down every hall, and even asking those they saw if they'd seen a small, blond boy. Each answer was negative.

"Now what? Snape is going to have our heads for losing his godson..."muttered Harry, leaning against one of the many vibrant white walls. "At least we know he's awake, right?"

"What good is that going to do us if we can't find him? He could have left the building for all we know...he grew up with a wizarding family, he can probably use floo powder."

"Then the best we can do is keep looking." The pair turned to go down a flight of steps when Harry suddenly stopped. "Did you hear that?"

Straining her ears, Hermione listened. "Isn't he the sweetest thing? Would you like another lollipop, sweetheart?"

"If I could," came a soft, very familiar voice. A thank you was heard a second later.

"Found him." The twosome ran down to the closed door they hadn't seen (it was beneath the stairwell from above) and threw it open. Inside, Draco sat on a plush couch with a lime lollipop in hand. Several nurses were clustered around, cooing over the child.

"Mione!" Draco exclaimed, jumping off of the couch and running towards the girl, wrapping his arms around her legs.

"Where on earth did you run off to, Draco?" Hermione asked, picking the child up. "We were so worried!"

"I'm sorry," he murmured, tears pooling in his eyes. "I couldn't find anyone when I woke up...and then April found me in the hall," he said, pointing to one of the nurses who waved and gave a dimpled smile, "and she brought me here."

"Thank you for watching him," Hermione said gratefully. "He got taken here because he swallowed too much Dreamless Sleep Potion...and when he woke up I guess no one was in the room with him."

"It was no problem," laughed April. Walking over, she plucked Draco out of Hermione's arms and gave him a hug and a kiss on top of his head. "Now you be good, okay?"

"Okay, April," he answered, offering her a charming smile. Waving goodbye, the trio left, Draco walking next to Hermione and holding her hand.

"I just thought of something," Hermione remarked as they were getting ready to floo several minutes later. "We're watching Pansy."

"Yay!" cheered Draco.

Harry groaned. "Just what we need."

**Author's Notes:**

In order to get this up on time, I'm not going to be doing Reviewer's Comments. I'm too tired and I have a neck cramp XD So sorry bout that, I'll make them nice and long next chappie.

I'm going to put this in bold. **I update this story every Sunday.** I won't update later or earlier unless I say I will. This is my fastest updated fic and I'm taking time away from others to write it. So please do be patient to Sunday. Arigatou!

Also, as ramblings of a rather curious authoress, I'm interested to see how old everyone is. XD If you don't answer, that's oki, but I'm naturally curious. Fyi, I'm fifteen, almost sixteen! My b-day is in December! n.n

Please do review! Your choice, but they do make me happy!


	6. Pansy, the Horror Oops! I meant Angel!

**Disclaimer: If I did own Harry Potter, I'd be spending my time writing the sixth book...not this. But since I am, we can conclude I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Parenting Class**

**Pansy, the Horror-Oops! I meant Angel!**

"I take it St. Mungo's could help?" Dumbledore inquired as three sooty people came tumbling out of his fireplace and landing on the large, woven rug.

"Yes, Sir, they could," Hermione said happily, standing up and brushing ash off of her robes and then dusting Draco. "We'd best be heading to our rooms to get cleaned up. Thank you for letting us go."

"Not a problem at all," Dumbledore answered with a smile, the familiar twinkle in his eye as he gazed down at the chibi Draco. "Would you like a lemon drop, Draco?" he asked kindly.

Draco opened his mouth to say yes but Hermione beat him to the chase. "Draco says no thank you, Professor Dumbledore. He's had quite a few sweets while we were away, didn't you Draco?" The child stuck his lower lip out in a pout.

"Well then, I wouldn't want to ruin your appetite for dinner," Dumbledore cheerfully said. "Run along all of you...and Miss Granger and Mr. Potter? I had your assignments brought to your rooms that you missed."

"Thank you, Sir," Hermione said gratefully, resisting the urge to run over and hug the aging professor. "Come on Harry, Draco," she ordered, starting for the staircase. Draco followed, eyes sorrowfully watching the candy jar while Harry gave Fawkes a good-bye pat.

"Ah ha! There you three are! What happened to you all?" queried Leviculus, the impish grin fixed on his face, the jester's cap tinkling merrily as he bounced up and down.

"Just a slight accident," Hermione said lightly, preferring to not go into detail. "We've been at St. Mungo's all day so that's why we haven't been here."

"Oh dear me!" gasped the jester, clutching his heart. "Is everything all right?" His eyes scanned all three of them for any sign of injury, but for all his observing, he could only find soot on the three figures.

"We're all fine, Leviculus. Not a thing to worry about," Hermione assured. "But we are awfully tired and quite dirty...mind letting us in?"

"Password, my dear?" the jester asked charmingly.

"Parvulus."

With a graceful bow, Leviculus swung open to show the oddly decorated room. With a sigh, Hermione trooped in before collapsing on the couch, rubbing her neck absentmindedly.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Draco asked, hopping onto the couch next to Hermione, silver eyes piercing her brown ones. "Does your neck hurt?"

"Just a little sore, Draco." The boy fixed her with his gaze before running over to Hermione's room and opening the door. Both she and Harry remained still, wondering what the boy was going to do.

He exited carrying a dark brown jar carefully in his hands. "It's murtlap essence," the child said proudly, scrambling up next to Hermione. "I found it in your trunk yesterday."

"What were you doing in my trunk?" she asked, accepting the jar with a smile.

The boy looked down at his feet. "I was just curious," he murmured.

"It's all right, I'm not mad," she said, pulling the boy into a hug. "Just don't do it again, okay?" Draco nodded. "Good. Now why don't we all get freshened up and then we'll head down to dinner? You must be starving, Draco!"

"I am a little hungry," he admitted with a sheepish grin.

All three left for their rooms and emerged several minutes later, clad in stark black robes and soot free from their faces. "All ready to go?" Hermione cheerfully questioned, scooping Draco into her arms.

She wasn't quite sure why, but she enjoyed carrying the child even though he was old enough to walk. Just something about the way he threw his arms around her neck in a hug or the small source of warmth he gave off melted her heart and made her want to just hug him.

The trio walked silently down the hall, all quite exhausted from the day's events, save Draco, still running on solid sugar. He only remained quite since he sensed his guardians were quite tired.

Entering the Great Hall, Hermione all but fell onto the bench, her head resting on Draco's for a pillow. The child squirmed uncomfortably, his stomach being pressed into the wooden tabletop.

Ginny, seeing his predicament, gently plucked him off of Hermione's lap and set him on the bench beside her. "Hungry?" Without waiting for an answer, the redhead put a large scoop of spaghetti on the child's plate followed by several carrot sticks and a piece of garlic bread. "Eat up."

Draco needed no second urging. Within minutes (even with Draco's delicate way of eating, manners and all) the plate was sparkling gold once more. Surprised, Ginny placed a cookie and a plum for dessert back on the dish.

"Thank you...um, what was your name?" Draco mumbled, a small blush tingeing his cheeks.

"Ginny," the girl filled in. "Do you want anything else to eat?"

"No thank you, Ginny," Draco answered politely, "I'm full." Next to him, Hermione was dozing, her face resting in a bowl of jell-o, completely oblivious to the gooey substance clinging to her hair.

Harry was much the same as Hermione; though his face was simply lying on the tablecloth, hand still holding the soupspoon. "Why are they so tired?"

"Hermione and Harry had a long day," Ginny laughed. The entire school had now heard about the accident in Potions class involving the little Malfoy. And because of it, most of the Gryffindors, who had always considered themselves sworn enemies to Draco Malfoy, had actually taken a liking to the child. After all, he had gotten Hermione and Harry out of Snape's punishments.

"What were they doing?"

"Freaking out about you I'm assuming. Don't worry," she comforted, seeing the boy's eyes widen, "it was for a good cause. They really do care about you, Draco, don't forget that."

"Even Harry?"

"Even Harry," Ginny said firmly. "They'll both do anything to make sure you're happy while you stay here. No one will ever do anything to hurt you, understand?" She too had seen the way Draco had looked at Harry at times and had slowly pieced it together of what she thought was a pretty accurate solution. She'd have to check with Hermione later of course to confirm, but for now she'd just stick to her idea.

"Do you like Harry?" Ginny stared open-mouthed at Draco, the randomness and the intensity of the question quite sudden.

"He's one of my best friends!"

"Uh huh," the child said, smirk on his face.

"He's only a friend!" she cried, cheeks turning red. Draco offered her a smile and then took a sip of his milk, now pointedly ignoring the situation.

"Bees only say end?" Hermione repeated, picking her head out of the jell-o. "What did you say Ginny?"

"Nothing," the Weasley girl said testily, arms folded across her chest. "I'm going to go work on my Potions essay. Talk to you later, Mione. Oh, and you have jell-o on your face!" Grabbing her book bag from beneath the bench, Ginny exited the hall, cheeks still light pink.

Furiously, Hermione rubbed at her cheek to remove the sticky goop, Draco watching two boys rise from the Slytherin table with a small girl, interest in his eyes. "Hermione! Pansy's coming!" he shouted excitedly.

Harry sat up with a jerk, emerald eyes wide in terror. "In that case, I'm gone," he announced, starting to stand up before Hermione yanked him back down next to her.

"Oh no you don't," she hissed. "We're both going to watch her, you agreed."

Harry was about to say that she had actually basically forced him to say yes, but at that second, Blaise, Neville, and Pansy arrived, all three of them smiles.

"Here you go, Mione," Neville said quickly giving Pansy a slight push in the direction of the Gryffindor. "Now remember Pansy, be a good girl, okay?"

"Okay!" she chirped, climbing up next to Draco. "Bye Neville! Bye Blaise!" Slightly unnerved by the Slytherin's attitude, the two quickly left, a spring to their step as they realized they were free for several hours.

"Come on you two," Hermione said, pulling each one up by the back of their robes. "Time for us to go back to our room." Agreeably, Draco and Pansy followed Hermione while Neville stopped Harry so he could come and pick up some of Pansy's pajamas.

"Here we are," the Gryffindor girl announced, stopping outside the portrait of Leviculus. With a whisper, Hermione said the password and Leviculus swung open, the jester almost asleep, head resting dangerously next to a sword.

"It's so bright! I love it!" exclaimed Pansy, running over to the orange couch and hopping up and down in excitement. "My room is boring old green and blue! I love this!"

"Glad someone does," Harry muttered, entering a second later, a small pile of clothing in his arms. "I'd take the green and blue room any day."

"But colors are pretty! How could you not like this?" Pansy looked curiously at Harry, now holding one of the yellow pillows. "It's like a rainbow!"

"Some of us prefer not to be blinded everyday," Harry replied, still blinking from the polka-dotted walls.

A split second later Harry was hopping about the room in pain, clutching his shin the young girl had just kicked, a scowl adorning her face. "YOU WILL LIKE THE RAINBOW ROOM!" she bellowed.

"FINE! I LIKE IT!" Harry shouted back, glaring daggers at Pansy, who suddenly was smiling innocently, hands behind her back.

"Come on, Draco! Let's go play!" Grabbing the other Slytherin, Pansy dragged him into his room and Harry sighed in relief to see the girl gone.

Hermione crossed over to the table and picked up the stack of homework Dumbledore had brought up. "Homework time, Harry," she bubbled dividing the pile in half and taking her own.

Harry snorted when he saw one of the assignments. "Write a diary depicting all of the activities you've done during the day. Then compare them to the section of 'Daily Events' in your copy of Unfogging the Future," Harry read. "Guess what that means, Mione?"

"That you have some stupid Divination homework?"

"Uh uh. That you have stupid Divination homework too." Hermione looked sharply up. "Go and check your pile...remember, Tobin said some of our classes might be switched."

Frantically, the brunette tore through the papers, mouth dropping when she found the same scented paper Harry had. "This can't be happening," she murmured. "I can't do that class, I just can't!"

"And don't forget about our bet," Harry smirked, a gleeful expression on his face. "You have to do my homework for a week now...here you go," he said, pushing his pile towards Hermione. "Here's day one."

A loud scream interrupted what might have been an argument as Draco came tearing out of his bedroom, Pansy hot on his heels. The child's once beautiful blond hair had been changed to a shade of bright pink, and now spiky.

"MIIIIOOONNEEEEE!" he wailed diving behind the witch, Pansy running smack into Hermione. "LOOK WHAT SHE DID TO MY HAIR!"

"Pansy," Hermione giggled, attempting to sound stern and failing miserably, "what did you do to Draco?"

"I dyed his hair," she laughed. "I think it looks better now!"

"How did you do that?"

"I used a wand."

"Wand?"

In answer, Pansy held up a very familiar looking wand...Harry's wand. "I saw it in his pocket...I was only going to borrow it for a little while."

A pitiful meow sounded and Crookshanks slunk from Draco's room, his once ginger coat now lime green. "I did the cat too!" After a second's thought, she pointed the wand at Harry. "Crispus!" At once the boy's hair turned into a mass of curls, much like an afro. "Can I do your hair too, Hermione?" Pansy thought it only polite to ask the girl, seeing as she had helped her before.

"Please don't," Hermione said faintly, laughter bubbling up inside of her. A pink, spiky haired Draco and Harry with an afro? She so needed a picture...before either boy had a chance to get away; she had snapped a photo, now laughing insanely, Crookshanks also caught in the corner of the image.

"Can you fix my hair?" Draco begged, clutching onto Hermione's robes. "I don't want it pink!" With a wave of her wand, everyone's hair returned to natural, the cat giving Hermione a lick of thanks before taking off into the bathroom to escape Pansy.

"You ruined their hair!"

"I fixed it," corrected Hermione. "Now why don't you give Harry back his wand?" With a sigh, the girl reluctantly handed it to Harry. "Why don't you two go play quietly?"

The two children went back to Draco's room and Hermione sat back down on the couch, hands picking up the Divination paper once more. "Why did this have to happen me?" she moaned, crumpling it into a ball. "I won't do it! That fraud can't make me!"

"It's a grade," Harry calmly said, picking up the wad of paper off the floor from where Hermione had thrown it. "And if you don't pass the class your GPA will go down and you won't be the smartest witch anymore." Hermione's face paled.

With a muttered curse, Hermione snatched the paper from Harry's hands and began to write down notes on the side. Harry picked up a book on quidditch from one of the bookshelves and began to read, out of the corner of his eye watching Hermione do both of their homework piles.

They had been working in relative silence for the next few minutes when another scream, once more Draco's, shattered the tranquility. The door to his room flew open once more with Draco being chased by Pansy.

But instead of hair being the problem, it was the face. Red Lipstick was smeared on Draco's face, green eye shadow messily applied. Two bright pink circles covered his cheeks, the attempts at applying blush.

"No wonder Neville needed a break," Harry murmured sympathetically, Draco launching himself behind Hermione once more.

"Pansy...what did you do this time?" Hermione asked, bending down and rubbing off the make-up with a cloth she had conjured.

"I decided to give Draco a makeover...and I got the make-up from my trunk!" She displayed several tubes of lipstick and other things she'd put on when she was her older self.

"I don't think Draco liked that and I wouldn't advise you to do it again," Hermione cautioned, giving Draco a hug once all of the cosmetics had been successfully removed.

"I won't." Once more, Pansy took Draco by the arm and dragged him off to his room.

"She seems to be quite bossy," Harry acknowledged, having watched the whole scene with interest.

"Poor Draco...I do wonder how they ever became friends...he's so sweet and she's so..."

"Horrible?"

"That could be the right word...definitely not an angel."

Thankfully for the two teenagers, while only Hermione since she had to do Harry' homework as well as her own, the children stayed quiet for the next hour, sometimes soft laughter could be heard and then voices.

With a yawn, Hermione glanced up at the clock; surprised to see it was almost eight...she wanted Draco in bed by eight-thirty so she'd have to hurry through bath time.

Cracking her back, the girl abandoned the homework and opened Draco's door. Both kids were lying on Draco's bed coloring out of a picture book, neither having noticed her.

"The dragon has to be green," Pansy insisted, holding her desired crayon.

"Red," Draco protested.

"Green."

"Red."

"Green."

"Red."

Silence reigned for a single moment before both children attacked the dragon with their crayons, Hermione watching in fascination as the picture actually began to look good.

The green crayon covered the dragon's body while Draco's red got the spikes on its back and the fire coming from its mouth. "Finished," the chorused, smiling at each other.

"Looks very nice," Hermione commented.

"You think so?" Pansy asked, obviously trying to get more praise. Very Slytherin-ish.

"The red and green work very well together...after all, they are complementary colors."

"Company colors?" the girl asked, brow furrowed in puzzlement. "You mean like neighbors?"

"Sort of. Complementary colors are colors that are across from each other on the color wheel. People say, that though they are opposites they complement, or suit each other nicely."

"Oh."

"Hate to break up the coloring session, but both of you have to take your bath...it's getting late."

"Awww," both pouted. "We don't want a bath," they said together.

"Too bad. Neither of you had one yesterday so you're getting one now. Come on." When neither child budged, Hermione entered and scooped Draco into her arms, the boy sitting still, eyes drooping sleepily. It appeared the sugar high he'd been on was starting to wear off.

Pansy, on the other hand, was anything but tired. Harry rushed to Hermione's rescue and took Pansy off of the bed, attempting to stop her flailing feet. No such luck. A few minutes later, both children were in the bathtub, Harry holding an icepack to his stomach, which was rapidly bruising.

"Are we done with our bath now?" Pansy whined, letting warm water trickle between her fingers. Seeing as they were so young, Hermione and Harry had no problems dumping both children in the tub at once, effectively making it easier since Pansy did seem to calm down around Draco.

"Not even close," Hermione laughed. "Both of you turn around, I need to wash your hair." Obediently, Draco and Pansy did so, Hermione lathering her hands with shampoo.

"YOU'RE HURTING ME!" Pansy yelled when Hermione began to scrub the girl's head, kneading the scalp to make sure she got everywhere.

"Hold still," Hermione growled, dumping a bucket of water over Pansy's head. "And close your eyes," she added, not wanting the shampoo to sting. Draco laughed, enjoying seeing his friend get what was coming to her after being such a brat.

His laughter ended as Hermione launched herself onto Draco's head, the child now yelling at her to stop and Pansy the one laughing. "Are we done _now?"_ Pansy asked.

"Nope." Hermione handed each child a washrag with soap. "Wash yourselves and then stay in there for a minute while I go get your pajamas. Harry...watch them." The boy nodded miserably, still holding his stomach.

Once Hermione had left, Pansy put a finger to her lips and pointed at the counter next to the bathtub. Crookshanks was lounging on the side, his tail hanging off. With twin smirks, Pansy yanked the cat down and straight into the bathtub.

Draco clamped a hand over the cat's mouth to muffle its yowl. Pansy reached up on the ledge and brought down the shampoo. Squirting almost the entire bottle onto the very upset animal, they began to lather its fur, determined to make the cat clean too.

When Hermione entered the room, her mouth fell open in horror. "Crookshanks!" she cried, dashing over to the children and pulling her cat out of their grasp. "My poor angel, are you all right?"

As a reply, Crookshanks coughed up bubbles and then leapt to the floor, shaking its coat, white suds flying, before he ran from the room with a hiss. "Draco! Pansy! What were you doing?"

"Giving the kitty a bath," Pansy grinned. "He was dirty."

Hermione glanced over at Harry, the other teenager looking guilty. "I didn't even hear them, Mione, I swear!"

"You are impossible!" she yelled, smacking him upside the head. "You two, out of the bath, now." They each pulled a towel off of the rack next to them and climbed out, still smiling impishly.

After they had both dried off, Draco and Pansy got dressed in the pajamas Hermione had brought. Draco's were once more black pants and a tee shirt, and Pansy had on a green nightgown with lace on the cuffs.

"Can you braid my hair, Hermione?" Pansy pleaded, tugging on the girl's sleeve. "I want it to be wavy when I wake up tomorrow! Then those stupid boys won't have to do anything to it!"

Hermione nodded beckoned for the girl to follow her to the common room. Draco and Harry both trooped after, Harry walking doubled over from the kick Pansy had given him.

Seating the girl on the floor in front of her, Hermione began to pull the dark strands of the girl's hair into a tight braid, Draco watching on with interest, Harry collapsing on the couch.

Just as Hermione finished, Leviculus called into the room. "Two young gentleman are here saying they're here to pick up Pansy!"

"Could you please let them in, Leviculus?" Agreeably, the jester swung open to reveal Neville and Blaise, both who walked in, blinking at the bright colors.

"Thanks for watching her, Mione," Neville said, giving his friend a smile. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"Not at all," Hermione said airly, Harry's mouth dropping in surprise. Pansy had been a little demon in his opinion. "Time for you to go, Pansy. It was very nice having you."

"No, thank you for letting me come over," the girl said, dropping into a small curtsy. Both she and Draco gave each other a hug goodbye and with a wave to Hermione and Harry, the girl left, room once more peaceful.

"Can we have Pansy over again tomorrow?" Draco asked.

Both teenagers looked at each other, faces mirroring horror. Then, very clearly, they said together, "no."

**Author's Notes:**

And we have now all seen the terror Pansy is. XD I hope the chapter was enjoyable, once more typing it over saturday. XD I never seem to have time anymore.

As for a recently asked question, yes, Harry and Hermione will also be turned little. If you read the summary it says Harry, Draco, and Hermione are paired up and they'll trade off being children. So Draco's only one of our little chibis of the three!

Once more, I can't express enough how wonderful you all are! Your kind reviews keep me motivated to keep writing this, even when I'm completly miserable. Besides, this fic always does seem to cheer me up. XD

Since I missed RC's last chapter, I'll be doing them from both chapters! n.n If you reviewed both times, I'll condense your review into one. n.n

Please do leave your feedback! I luv to hear what you have to say! Also, please tell me yes or no to this question. **Would you like this to also be a Harry/Ginny fic? **I've personally always adored the couple...besides, a little side romance at the moment and when Mione's a kid would be fun. XD Please do let me know!

And as a little survey (thanks to those who particpated in the last one! ::huggles::) what has been your favorite part of this fic so far?

A wonderful piece of news I wish to share...I got my driving permit! And my dad has nicknamed me Mario after a race car driver. I'm taking turns at about 30mph, we even went up on two wheels! I'm glad my dad took me, cuz my mom would've freaked! XD

And one last thing...HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO BRONWEN AND PAPRIKA90! and a HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO TALISA AHN!

**Reviewer's Comments:**

**LishaChan **Not to worry as you've already seen. I couldn't make him sleep for a week! What would be the fun in that? That's a good answer...update after you write. XD That is one hell of a day! So glad I wasn't in Harry's shoes! Mrs. W. was hilarious! I've just always pictured her that kind of way. XD

**valentines-hater** Nothing is ever fair. XD I guess that people just like this story more...I do have several not so popular fics. Like Lavender's Twin...not so high and neither is A Whole New World. Don't feel bad, people will come. n.n You can try advertising it too...I've never done so, but Gaia is a good place. n.n

**Gertyke** Yay! So happy! My sister was making a family tree and she had to use three words to describe a person. I was fun, impatient, and comical. The last confused me a bit so I asked her. She informs me that even though I don't meant to be funny I'll often say something that just makes them laugh or something incredibly stupid. Not even a year ago I asked a rather stupid question...'Since they always have 100 people vote on Ask the audience in 'Who wants to be a Millionare', does that mean only 100 people can go to a show?' My family was cracking up about that one for days! XD A bit fast for chappie five, hmm? ::sigh:: Some people tell me I'm taking it to slow, others too fast. Yeah, a lot did happen cuz I was trying to speed it up. Guess I'm slowing it down again. XD

**Anigen** Sorry if you don't like the length. Since I update every Sunday I don't really see reason to make them 6000 plus words like my other stories. I think the shortness kinda depicts each scene and makes it seem more special...does that sound right?

**scarlet-knight13** My parents think ferrets smell bad, have too many teeth, and plain don't want one. T.T I tried to convince them to let me get Jaws (a kitten my flute teacher is currently fostering until she can get him and his three siblings homes) but the name said no right away. She hates cats too. No new pets for me till I get my own house she says. XD

**BIGHARRYFAN** Yep, you're right. n.n I'm saving Hermione (aka the best) for last. I'm modeling her off of me and my sister...soon everyone will know my childhood. XD As for getting hurt...I think you got them all. XD But that sure is a long list! Terry is a little horror too! I am wondering how his parents put up with him...

**Saiyachick** Arigatou! I'll have to go check out one of your fics when I get a moments peace. XD I'm not big into DBZ...used to be, but then I didn't really care for the Buu saga and then GT plain confuses me. XD Requests? Like those contests people are always doing? That would certainly be interesting to try...do you have requirements for them when they ask, like no slash or stuff like that?

**Bily's Shadow** He's such a cute walking disaster! lol What amazes me is he's so clumsy as a kid and then people often describe him having 'catlike' grace when he's older! n.n Who would have ever guessed?

**rockslutgothpunk** Satan must be. XD That I would like to see. I'm shivering right now, it's freezing in my house! Doesn't help my mom opened the window to 'let in some fresh air' Brrr, how am I to go out on Halloween if it's this cold? ::grumble:: I liked my old town so much better. Sorry, can't do the bribe. T.T I'm saving the best for last...that means Mione! Harry and Draco should start getting along next chapter...they have a small bonding session. n.n Oh no, I don't mind hearing I'm talented. XD It does go to my head at times (like when I randomly yell out while typing 'I am so great!' and my family basically facefaults) but it really does insprie me to hear everyone saying that. Always puts me in a good mood! n.n I think that was my fave part too last chappie! She totally over reacted! It's a good thing Rita Skeeter wasn't there! Can you imagine the article? O.o

**CherryBlossomAngel-225** It is adorable! I think it's such a cute relationship between the two! Closer then friends, but more like siblings then anything. He certainly is a charmer. Those nurses were going nuts over him...maybe we can all see where he gets that big head of his. XD

**blackrosebunny451** I have! Hate it when people change the character's actual speech like that! Did you see that they cancled inuyasha on saturdays?? . I am so pissed! I can't watch it on the weekdays and those were the new episodes! ::growls:: Yeah, Nevi normally isn't so...what would be the word? forward? But it fit well. Besides, after dealing with Pansy for over 12 hours I think anyone would be changed. XD

**Mashed-Potato01** I luv ur pename! So kawaii! I luv mashed potatoes! XD Now I sound slightly crazy...O.o

**LiLbLueangeL1223** It is nice to see him caring. So many people always make him so nasty, but inside he has to be a good person, right? I mean, he did change sides and now works for the Order. School! Ahhh, don't say it! XD I have to go in early monday to finish up a math test. Lucky me. XD

**Bronwen **XD My mom is worse, don't worry. She's always telling me to clean or do something and when I do it she redoes it...what was the point of me doing it? Happy birthday! I know it's a little late but its still there! n.n No, I actaully haven't heard of that before. ::looks embarassed:: sounds kewl though. n.n I'm going as a jester...was going to do Hawaiian but it's too cold! I went Japanese last year and froze my butt off! The wind went right through the kimono! Not goign through that again!

**Pia O'Leary** Now my dog gets his bath outside. XD We chain him at his stake and then chase him with the hose since he won't stand still. What kind of dogs do you have? Mine is a German sheperd terrier mix. I do know what you mean...someone has a shirt at my school that reads 'It's only funny until someone gets hurt...then it's hilarious!' XD I luv the little terror Harry...now just wait until we get to Hermione. ::gulps:: That is going to be scary. Fifteen too? Wow, a lot of people are almost my age! Wish I could meet everyone! XD

**samhaincat** XD, that's a reasonable explanation too! Yep, angst is good. I swear, I try to keep it out but this stupid dark side of me always pops out. ::sigh:: I still think its funny how my sister described me as comical...if she only knew of my other half. I have got to put more Uncle Sev in...now I just have to find where.

**Alenor** I wanted to go see a waterfall while I was on vacation in Arizonia. Unfortunately, it was a fifteen mile hike and my parents told me no. I would gladly have gone but they reign superior. XD Nah, couldn't make my little angel sleep. He'd be no fun! Good old St. Mungo's. I don't speak much Japanese. T.T Just stuff I've picked up from watching anime and reading fanfics. I want to take it, but my school doesn't offer it and neither do any colleges by me! But I am determined to learn, it's so kewl!

**charmedsisters** He is simply adorable! I can't believe he ever grew up into that jerk we all know in the books! Hmm, maybe we should all talk to Rowling and make her make Draco good! XD I think almost all Draco fans would join. Them not knowing about magic will play quite a big part! Just wait!

**Kellalor** I guess he can XD

**The Stump** Very interesting pen name...where did you get that idea? Yep, lots of accidents. For some reason people always find when others get hurt in a funny way...well, funny. XD Like I personally find Ron's hand very amusing. Terry certainly is a very...erm, devilish child.

**ilovetom88** Yay! Cookie! ::eats it quickly:: Mmm, my fave, oatmeal raisin! My mom just baked those a few days ago and my brother ate almost all of them! ::sniffle: I only got one cookie. But next time I claim the whole batch!

**Lulu LABs23** That'd be awesome if you could draw that! I luv fanart! XD I actually luv drawing it so much that as soon as my scanner starts to work I'm going to scan in my work and call it Author Art. XD That does sound like fun! I babysit a lot too! XD Some of the kids are angels (like Maddie, she's like the younger sister I never had) but Cameron...oh man, he's a terror! Always fighting. And Hayley always needs everything her way. The joy of watching children. XD Uncle Sev so rocks! Don't worry, we'll see more of him...as soon as I figure out where I can stick him in.

**Meg **XD I can't believe Snape actually didn't punish Harry and Hermione. But then again, his adorable godson asked...now how could anyone resist that?

**trapped-in-a-dream** He is! If anyone says he isn't...they'd better watch out! XD

**Talisa Ahn** happy early birthday! n.n Draco reminds me of myself at times...sort of. When I caused trouble as a kid, I meant it. XD My sister and I were always driving our parents nuts cuz we'd tagteam. She would distract and I would get the desired item (normally a cookie) and then when they'd put us in time out I'd sneak out. XD

**Donniedarkobunnylover** Harry's next. I'm saving Hermione to the very end...she's my pride and joy at the moment. XD

**HM **::shudders:: Ron is definetley going to be a little devil! But not as bad as Hermione...oh no, I have big plans for her. XD

**ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies** Your pen name sounds like me! I burn almost everything, even popcorn! Although I'm happy to say I sucessfully made brownies the other night! It might be cuz I sat right outside the oven the entire time to watch them...that was a long half hour. XD

**Cassiel Oliviari** Hmmm, buy Draco? Well, I can give you a little Draco plushie...I need the origanal for the fic, sorry. ::hands you Draco plushie:: I squash a lot of my friends when I haven't seen them for a while and I hug them. The funniest thing was my friend Izy (he's really tall, like 6'3'') when I ran to hug him he didn't fall over...I rebounded off of him when he stood still. XD, very embarassing. I can't wait until the D/Hr comes up! Luv writing that!

**JeanMarie** I wish Snape was more like this in the books. He's almost sweet!

**CircleOfStone** You're very welcome. n.n Who wasn't clumsy as a child? XD, I was a walking disaster! And now that I got my driving permit...beware drivers, Icy is on the road! XD I'm actually not too bad...I just tend to go a little fast. Me too! I luv all the bad boys...Hiei, Tsume, Draco, Seto, XD I like some sweeties too but the bad ones get me. Don't worry, I'll make ya luv little Harry. XD I've already made some people start to like Snape who originally hated him! XD

**Caitlin** He will warm up...next chappie I'm predicting.

**dizzydragon** I luv your username! So cute!!! The plot bunnies were quite funny for this fic...they came to me in the middle of geometry...I'm sitting there writing a proof and then it's like 'I need to write a fic where they all get chibi-fied!' Then again, I've gotten two other fic ideas in church. O.o I can't wait to see Draco and Harry handle Hermione! Chaos galore! That's how I was talking to my aunt's puppy yesterday. Me: You awre da cuwtest pwuppy, yes you awre. Dog: ::licks:: Quite an odd encounter I must say. This one family I babysit for is full of angels! Maddie and Andy are the sweetest kids!

**Yokai Cesia and Chi** Yep, for both questions. Harry and Mione will turn little and personalities might change. I mean, we can't expect Draco to remain so mean after Hermione's showered him in love, can we?

**Onawhim** Glad you think so! n.n I'm so proud that everyone thinks it cute...a rather nice change from angst.

**MokubaDoll** Yeah, they are. I hate them so much! Currently have one in my calf...I'm glad ya weren't bored. Don't intend to ever make the ficcy lag...then it would be boring.

**coffeentoffee** Looks like ya just made the cut this chappie too! A very normal day for Harry Potter...I mean, he is the boy who lived, ne? He has to be special! I luv the violent ones too! So much more interesting then the hero type.

**BlueBabyAquaGirl** Hermione can be rather funny if the author writes her right. Otherwise she's just a bossy know it all. XD I loved the brick thing! I mean, it's always a joke and this time it was real!

**!Matt! **My uncle broke his arm and both of his legs falling down a flight of stairs when he was younger XD So I guess a neck isn't too far out of the equation. Harry is going to be the kid next!

**Violet-8932** ::hands you Draco plushie:: Are you really going to make one? That would be so kewl! I am unfortunatley no good with sewing so I'll stick to writing and drawing him. XD Yeah, writing the chapter does take a while. It is so easy to read yet so hard to write. I need to make sure to hit all of the points in it as well as keeping it humorous and fun. ::sigh:: A normal chapter can take me anywhere from 3-8 hours to get out! I would honestly never guessed a Parenting Class! I read one story (but the author stopped updating it) where Dumbledore made gym class! XD

**LosOjosDeLaVida** Mine wasn't that bad, I know that! XD I was in for surgery, back in when the doctor messed up and then out! n.n and I got a teddy bear out of the deal! XD I named him Fuzzy of all things. How origianl can you get?

**JenniferJae** Wow! A lot of people have b-days in December! I am so glad that none of the kids I watch are like Terry. I'd probably die! XD

**Sage Raleigh Luna** Glad ya do! Hope to see you again!

**FiReFaIrY14** He is simply adorable! Here's more!

**Holly **I'm happy you think so. I try to keep them in character despite the fact I basically made new charcters from them. XD

**Cassiel Oliviari** He's a little imp! XD I think that word is fun to describe him. But I agree, he is adroable beyond normal!

**FlickFlick **I wish I could keep little Draco too. Alas, he belongs in the story....but you are welcome to a plushie! ::hands you little Draco plushie:: I'm very proud I was actually able to make such a funny storyline, I'm normally a darker writer. Although my sister informs me that I'm actually quite funny.

**Spaced Out Space Cadet** I'm glad it's different. I like to be original, not copy anyone XD I think the stories where the author turns Draco or any other person chibi for no reason is kinda stupid...what's the point? See ya later!

**LaterAlligator** Too bad my brother isn't like Draco. He's more of a Terry. XD It was funny how they all met up. In a while crocodile! lol

**unknown **Thanks very much for your review! I hope it stays original, copying is not my style!

**stars around the moon** He'll be acting quite different, I can say that as a definite. Hermione does sound like a wonderful mom. Wish mine was more like her XD Hmmm, I think I get your question. You mean to upload a story, right? Yes, when you click create story and upload the chapter from Document Manager it will form a link to the story. After a while it'll update it on the site and everyone can see it. n.n Nah, you don't sound like a dork. I was e-mailing an author who's fic I read asking how the heck you made a story. XD She had to talk me through the entire process.

**Callie **That's good, these updates sure do take me a while to write!

**paprika90** Yay! I learned some new words!!!! n.n Yes, I do luv Japan! I want to go so badly! my only problem is can't stand fish...especially sushi XD Everything in it? I had one person once describe a fic of mine as a meal...a bit of everything. XD Happy belated b-day btw!

**blue-hair-rocks** I so agree with your pen name! A kid in my school currently has his hair dyed blue. XD I agree with you on grammer and rushing. If you go back and read, even if you don't understand it, The Star Shaped Scar, you will think aliens replaced that authoress with the current one. I was terrible! I attempt to drag the storyline out as much as possible and not rush...otherwise it looks sloppy and like the author didn't care. I might go into writing as a career...or possibly art. Or I might combine the two and write a manga! XD So many choices! Now, just gotta pass geometry to get to college....

**UrS0D00rk3y** I do plan on taking it up as possibly a career. I started a novel (dark, mind you) but I also luv drawing anime...so I might do a manga. I'm actually not Japanese, but I'm attempting to learn it from watching anime. XD But in answer to your question, genki! n.n Just that it's spelled ogenki desu ka. I believe it means 'how are you?' , ne? Nah, don't feel old! Leave that up to the people over 30! XD A smile on your face? Good! I often hear my sister down the hall from me laughing when she reads it...for once it's nice to make people laugh instead of cry. n.n Ja ne!

**dark-fairy-fan** I think he might be like that too underneath all his threats. I mean, in GoF he did warn Hermione at the end of the quidditch cup thing to get away from the camp, right? I seriously hope Rowling makes him sort of nicer later on.

**Emma Lee18** You just can't make up your mind, can ya Em? Last chappie too slow, this one too fast! Which is it? XD Have fun at lunch!

**YamiClara** I can't wait till mione's chibi! So much fun! Do you watch Yugioh? If so, who's your fave character? I luv Seto! He's mine mine mine! XD I luv Malik too, but he went back to Egypt. T.T Babysitting Pansy certainly was fun...I think Draco had the best time!

**Elizabeth the 4rth** Don't worry about the Lucius thing...it is barely going to be in there. I just wanted to throw in a bit of angst. XD Yes, I luv Pirates of the Caribbean! One of the best movies of all time! I'm actually a bigger fan of our Captain Jack Sparrow! I think Johnny Depp played him so well! Of course my sister likes Will better (huge Orlando Bloom fan) but the movie is wonderful! The only ones that rival it are LOTR movies, HP movies, and I luv Speed!

**smileystar04** That is quite odd with Snape. Can you imagine if the whole school started to call Snape Uncle Sev? It'd be hilarious although I don't think Sev would like it much XD Yeah, life is crazy, don't feel bad. Hermione does seem more into the entire project then Harry...I guess it's cuz Harry never had a great childhood either. Mrs. W. was so funny! I luv that woman! I don't see how anyone could get mad at Draco...I mean, even the Gryffindors like him!

**Stormy Skies** That's oki Stormy. School makes one's life get so much harder. I'm just glad you were able to come! Terry is so wonderful!! XD I like that kind when they're not real...as for my brother...that's another story.


	7. A Pause For Acceptance

**Disclaimer: Let's see...if I did own Harry Potter it would no longer be Harry Potter...it would be Draco Malfoy and the Goblet of Fire, Draco Malfoy and the Order of the Phoenix and all of the other books. **

**Parenting Class**

**A Pause for Acceptance**

Everyone sat for a moment in silence, the two teenagers relishing the tranquility of the room. "Do I have to go to bed now?" Draco whined, tugging on Hermione's robes. "I'm not tired," he yawned, eyes widening as he attempted to stifle the second one.

"It looks like you're quite ready for a good night's rest," Hermione observed, reaching down and picking up the child. "Let's go brush your teeth and then we'll read a story, okay? Draco? Draco?"

"Looks like Pansy wore him out," Harry chuckled, "maybe we should have her over here more often."

"I think not," Hermione bristled, starting for Draco's bedroom. "My cat is soaking wet thanks to that little girl! I admit, she is very sweet at times but we will not be having her here all the time!"

Harry settled himself down on the couch as Hermione tucked Draco into bed and then proceeded back into the common room, after making sure the boy's nightlight was on. "It looks like it's going to storm tonight," the girl commented, gazing out the large window.

Indeed it did. Large, black clouds were gathering in the sky, a ripple of yellow showing every few seconds. The trees bent over with the force of the winds, leaves and other objects racing across the castle grounds.

Harry joined Hermione at the window and together they watched as fat raindrops began to patter against the window till the drizzle turned into an amazing downpour. "It's the perfect time for telling ghost stories," he remarked.

"I don't like ghost stories," Hermione shivered, hugging her robe tight around her. A loud clap of thunder tore through the air just as all of the candles and the fireplace went out, a gigantic gust of wind having raced down the chimney.

"L-lumos," Hermione stuttered, her wand lighting up at the tip and casting a meager glow over her face, pale with fright. "I really don't like this, Harry," she murmured, relishing the warmth he gave off, a sudden chill seeming to come over the room.

"Told you it was time for ghost stories," Harry smirked. "Okay, here's a good one...do you want me to tell you?"

"Not particularly...but you're going to do it anyway so just go ahead."

"It was a dark, stormy night," Harry began his voice dropping in pitch, "much like this one. An old man sat in his chair by the fire, a dog by his feet while he puffed on his pipe. As he was almost asleep a knocking sounded on the front door." Harry knocked his hand three times on the windowsill, devilish grin on his face.

"Thinking it was a traveler caught in the rain the old man went to let them in. But when he got there, the doorway was empty. Forgetting the whole matter he went back to his chair and opened up the newspaper. Minutes later, the knocking sounded again." Once more Harry rapped his knuckles slowly.

"And once again, the old man went to the door only to find nothing. With a shrug he went back to his chair and started to pet his dog, who had come to sit by his side. Seconds later, three more knocks sounded. Ignoring them, believing it was but his imagination the man stayed where he was. Again they came, and still he sat."

"Faster and faster the pounding became until the dog was howling and the man was covering his ears. And then...it stopped!" By now Hermione was clutching the front of Harry's robes, brown eyes magnified with terror.

"And then slowly...ever so slowly...three more knocks sounded." _Knock, knock, knock. _Harry looked up startled. "It's my job to knock, Mione."

"I didn't knock," she answered shakily. _Knock, knock, knock. _Hermione screamed and Harry stepped in front of his friend protectively, hand clutching his own wand.

"Mr. Potter? Miss Granger? Are you in there? Answer the door!" demanded the stern voice of Professor McGonagall.

"It's only McGonagall," Harry breathed, quickly crossing the room and shoving the portrait open.

"About time," the transfiguration professor sniffed. "Couldn't you hear me knocking?"

"W-we could," Hermione exhaled, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. "But why didn't Leviculus just open for you?" she asked, McGonagall handing Harry a candle.

"All of the portraits went dead," the teacher snorted. "The storm outside took away their operating power...the worst storm Professor Dumbledore says to hit the castle in over fifty years!"

"So are you making sure we're all right?" Harry questioned.

"Yes, and I also require Miss Granger. As a prefect, it is your duty to come and help myself and the others revive the portraits by putting some of our own magic into them. And for the time being Potter, don't light the fireplace again...Professor Dumbledore is worried that flames might spread if the wind blows the right way. Miss Granger, follow me."

"But what about Draco?" Hermione cried, throwing a nervous look over her shoulder at the closed bedroom door. "I can't leave him here!"

"I'm sure Mr. Potter is more than capable of looking after Mr. Malfoy for a few hours." Hermione and Harry shared a look.

"Let's just hope he doesn't wake up," Hermione whispered, Harry nodding his agreement. With a sad glance at the closed door, Hermione followed McGonagall, Harry standing silently in the middle of the room.

Another loud burst of thunder made the floor beneath the teenager's feet visibly shake. "I have a feeling I am not going to like tonight," he muttered, making his way into his bedroom.

Changing into a pair of red pajama pants and a gold top (ever the true Gryffindor), Harry crawled beneath his covers, a grateful sigh escaping his lips. All he wanted to do was sleep...

With a jolt, the boy sat up. He probably should check on Draco...Hermione would. Groaning, Harry slid out of his warm resting spot and padded softly down the hall to Draco's room.

Pushing the door open, Harry was glad to see the boy curled up in his bed and he turned to go. Then taking a double glance back, he saw the child's tiny shoulders shaking and muffled crying barely distinguishable over the roar of the thunder.

"Draco?" Harry said tentatively, stepping into the room and approaching the Slytherin. In response, Draco curled up tighter into a ball and buried himself under the covers. "What's wrong?" Harry asked, gently as he possibly could.

It was then the Gryffindor realized the waterfall had gone out, another item that the storm had disrupted. The only light in the room was that of the lightning flashing through the windows and illuminating everything in intervals.

"I want Hermione!" Draco wailed, looking up at Harry with wide, silver eyes. He burst into a new round of sobs, growing louder as the thunder sounded.

"There, there, it's okay," Harry comforted, easing himself onto the edge of the bed till his hand came to rest on Draco's shoulder.

Draco whimpered and drew himself tighter into the mattress, Harry removing his hand. A sudden flashback to earlier that evening suddenly struck the child.

_"They really do care about you, Draco, don't forget that." _

_"Even Harry?"_

_"Even Harry," Ginny said firmly. "They'll both do anything to make sure you're happy while you stay here. No one will ever do anything to hurt you, understand?" _

With a soft cry, Draco flung himself into Harry's arms, the older boy's eyes widening in surprise. Cautiously, Harry wrapped his arms about Draco and rocked him slowly, feeling the boy tighten his grasp on his robes.

"I don't like the thunder," Draco whispered, burying his head against Harry's chest. "Or the dark...never the dark."

"It's all right," Harry murmured, placing his chin on top of the blond head. "I used to be scared of the thunder too...but it can't hurt you...just there to make a lot of noise."

"Don't leave me here," Draco sobbed, "I don't want to be alone!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Harry assured. "I'll stay right here until you fall asleep."

"But I don't want to fall asleep! I'll die!"

"Now why do you say that?"

"Because Voldemort will come and kill me when I close my eyes," Draco whimpered.

Harry almost recoiled in horror. Someone other then himself and Dumbledore saying the Dark Lord's name? "What do you mean, Draco?" he queried, shivers racing up his spine.

"Father says that if I'm bad, when I go to sleep he'll come and kill me," the child cried. "He says Voldemort only wants strong people to work for him...I'm not strong if I cry...and whenever it storms or I'm in the dark I cry...I don't mean too...I'm just scared."

"Well no Dark Lord is going to kill you with me here, understand? I won't let him hurt you."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Draco said softly, voice barely heard.

"For what?"

"I thought you would hurt me," he mumbled into Harry's shirt. "Ginny told me you cared about me...and I'm glad I listened to her."

Tears pricked at Harry's eyes and he blinked them away furiously. "And Ginny is absolutely correct...I care for you very much. I will never, ever, hurt you or make you feel scared, all right? And if I do, I give you permission to hit me. Do we have a deal?"

"But I don't want to hit you," Draco sniffled.

"It's just a precaution," Harry assured. "If it makes you feel better, you could instead tell Hermione and she'd hit me for you."

Draco chewed on his lower lip before giving a slow nod. Holding out his hand, Harry gave it a gentle shake. "How about we go to my room?" he suggested. "The window isn't as big there and you won't see as much of the storm."

The Slytherin murmured a soft yes and Harry scooped the child into his arms like he'd seen Hermione do many times. He now understood why his friend preferred to carry Draco rather then let the child walk...he had a warm, comfortable weight that made him feel good inside.

Harry climbed into his bed, Draco still in his arms, and placed the child beneath the covers. The candle McGonagall had given him sat on a small nightstand, the small glow providing a degree of comfort in the otherwise black room.

"I still don't want to go to sleep," Draco stubbornly said. "I want Hermione."

"She isn't here right now," Harry replied. "She'll be back later tonight though."

"Why? Where did she go?"

"She had to help with some things around the castle."

"Can I stay up till she comes back? Please?"

Harry sighed. "All right."

The child gave him a shy smile and Harry grinned back. "Can we read a story? I don't want to listen to the thunder." Draco produced a book from Harry's shelf and handed it to him. "I saw Hermione put this here earlier," he said, noticing Harry's raised eyebrow at finding a children's book in his room.

"The Imp and the Three Faeries," he read off the cover. "Are you ready?" Draco snuggled up closer in reply. "Once upon a time there was a family of three faeries...a mommy faerie, a daddy faerie and a child faerie."

"What were their names?" Draco interrupted.

"It doesn't say..." Draco snorted and then went back to listening. "One day they decided to go into the forest and pick some berries for their dinner that evening. While they were gone, a little imp crept up to their house and entered."

"Shouldn't the imp knock? It isn't polite to barge in."

"The imp isn't very nice... 'Oh My,' the imp said. 'Look at this yummy looking pumpkin juice! I must have some!' First, the imp picked up the largest glass and took a sip. 'Yuck!' he cried, spitting it out. 'It's too warm!' Picking up the middle sized glass he took a sip. 'Terrible! Too cold!' Picking up the smallest cup, the imp took a large sip. 'Perfect!'"

"He shouldn't do that," Draco objected, frowning at the pages. "Father and Mother wouldn't like it at all if someone we didn't know came in."

"It's a story, Draco," laughed Harry. "Let's just keep reading, shall we?" Draco nodded and leaned closer to the book, Harry's wand illuminating the pages. "'I need to sit down,' the imp decided. Entering the room next to the kitchen, the imp sat down in a gigantic arm chair. 'Too squishy,' the imp decided. Picking himself out of it, the imp sat down in the rocking chair. 'It moves too much,' he complained. Settling himself in the smallest chair the imp smiled. 'This one is great!'"

"I would have taken the rocking chair," Draco declared.

"The armchair was more to my liking," Harry argued. "But if that's what the imp wanted we'll leave it at that...The imp gave a loud yawn. 'I need to go lie down,' he decided, getting out of the chair and making his way upstairs. Three beds were lined up before him. Climbing into the first one the imp sank into the mattress. 'It's too big!' he squeaked. Making his way out of it, the imp climbed into the middle sized bed. 'It's too hard...my poor back,' he moaned. He then made his way over to the smallest bed. 'I like this one,' he said. Within moments the imp was fast asleep."

Harry waited for the comment Draco would come up with and was surprised when there was none. Looking down, he smiled at the boy, resting fast asleep against his shoulder. "And they all lived happily ever after," he finished, though he had no clue if that was the actual ending.

Setting the book on the nightstand, Harry placed his glasses on top of it and then eased Draco so his head lay on one of the pillows. Resting his own head on the other pillow Harry gave Draco a soft kiss on his forehead, the boy inching closer to Harry and curling up against him.

"I love you, Draco," Harry whispered, closing his own eyes. Amidst the darkness, the candle burned brightly, a source of hope and comfort for whenever it might be needed.

About two hours later Hermione walked into the common room, looking dead on her feet. "Stupid portraits," she grumbled, walking unsteadily for her bedroom. "Can't fix themselves..." She suddenly stopped. "I'd probably best go check on Draco," she groaned, turning around and walking to the child's door, wand held in her hand to light the way.

Lifting the wand above her head, Hermione cast the glow around the boy's room, beginning to panic slightly when she found the bed unoccupied. Retreating from the doorway, she hastily went to Harry's and entered, freezing in her tracks.

Harry was curled up in bed, one arm hanging off the side and the other wrapped around Draco. The child was snuggled up against her friend, a contented smile on his face. Though the girl was tired, she picked up Harry's camera from his shelf and snapped a photo, a smile on her face.

"I don't think I'm making it back to my room," Hermione yawned. Gently shoving Draco closer to Harry and Harry closer to the edge, Hermione climbed up into the bed next to Draco, seconds later sound asleep.

When Draco woke up the next morning he found himself sandwiched between the two Gryffindors and not able to move. The storm still raged outside, hail now pelting against the windows in addition to the rain and the constant booming of the thunder.

So the child was actually quite happy with this arrangement. He felt secure and safe between his two current guardians, Hermione's breath tickling his face and Harry holding him loosely in a protective embrace.

The candle still shined on the nightstand, though it was down to its last bit of wick. "Please don't go out," Draco prayed, watching the flame flicker. He knew he would still be scared of the dark, even with Hermione and Harry watching over him.

"Draco?" Hermione mumbled sleepily, eyes half open. "What's wrong?"

At that second the candle chose to go out and Draco gave a gasp of terror before he felt Hermione's arms wrap around him and pull him onto her lap as she sat up.

"He's scared of the dark," came Harry's soft voice followed by a 'lumos'. "And with the storm outside it's made everything quite black." It suddenly occurred to the legendary seeker, that Hermione was in his bed. "What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously.

"I found you two here when I came back last night...I just stayed," Hermione said with a shrug. "Professor McGonagall told me that when we woke up to go down to the Great Hall. Dumbledore enchanted the ceiling so it looks sunny, very bright in there now."

"Then let's get going." Harry stretched and shooed Hermione out so he could get dressed, Hermione taking Draco to his room with the light of her wand. Minutes later they all gathered in the common room, Draco riding on Hermione's hip with his hands tightly gripping her robe. Two beacons of wand light was their guide to the Great Hall, both being used to full extent.

When the three arrived at the designated spot, Draco gave a tiny sigh of relief. It was as Hermione had said. The ceiling was a brilliant shade of yellow, effectively making the whole room bright. Students were walking about, talking in hushed voices and eating breakfast from a large buffet table set up in the front of the room.

"Hey you guys," Ginny greeted, making her way over to the trio. "Terrible weather isn't it?"

"Why do you sound so happy?" Harry grumbled, himself feeling rather grumpy.

"I love storms!" the Weasley girl laughed. "Besides, with the weather like this and all the lights keep going out, it's basically impossible to hold classes! Why don't you go get breakfast? You all look famished!"

Hermione glanced hesitantly at the food table where students were shoving each other and generally making a mess. "Could Draco stay with you while Harry and I go? I don't want him to get hit."

"Sure," Ginny agreed, taking Draco from Hermione. She brought the child over to a corner in the room and set him down, taking a seat on the floor beside him. But as soon as she did that, Draco scrambled to his feet and sat himself in her lap with a smile.

"You were right, Ginny," he murmured, "Harry is really nice."

"He is," she smiled.

"Is that why you like him?"

"I do not like him!" she exclaimed, blush rising up. "Harry is a friend, nothing more."

"That's what you said yesterday," the child observed. "Then who do you like?"

"No one," she said hotly, turning her face away from Draco.

"Why don't you like Harry?" Draco persisted, not willing to give up on the matter.

"I do like Harry!" she cried in exasperation, "just not in the way you want me too!"

"What was the first line you said?" the child questioned, smirk growing on his face.

"I LIKE HARRY!" she shouted, the entire hall growing silent. "Did I just yell that?" she whispered, face rapidly turning to match her hair. "Please tell me I did not just say that."

"You did...but if you don't like him then it shouldn't bother you, right?"

"Someone kill me," she muttered as people continued to stare.

"Do you really want to die?" Draco asked, quite alarmed.

"Yes."

"You don't mean that."

"I do."

"You don't."

"I do."

"You do."

"I don't."

"Gotcha!" Draco laughed happily. "Oh look! Harry and Hermione are coming over!"

Ginny groaned and covered her head. "What did I just do?"

"Ginny?" Harry asked, kneeling down next to the girl, currently squishing Draco as she rocked back and forth. "Ginny?"

"She likes you," Draco informed, face completely serious.

"As a friend," Ginny whispered, keeping her eyes down.

"Nuh uh," Draco countered. "You like, like him."

Harry looked on in confusion as the child and the Gryffindor began to bicker, 'do toos' and 'do nots' flying between the two.

"You shouldn't lie, Ginny," Draco scolded, shaking his finger at the girl. "It isn't polite."

"Fine! Does this answer your question?" the girl snarled, pushing Draco off of her lap. The boy's smirk grew wider as Ginny grabbed Harry by his tie and pulled him down so his face was level with hers.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed her lips against his, Draco laughing in glee.

**Author's Notes:**

Reuploaded on 11/6 for changes to the imp's gender XD

As you can all hopefully see, fic has also turned Harry/Ginny. Everyone who answered in my Harry/Ginny poll said yes, to please do it so I did. And to some people's questions, yes this is also Draco/Hermione, it says that in the summary.XD

Happy Halloween! So what is everyone going as? Me, I'm taking a leaf out of Leviculus's book and going as a jester!! n.n The costume really fits with my personality quite well. The best thing about it is it had bells! I tried it on yesterday and was jangling around the house all day!

And in response to a very good question, yes, when the children turn older they will remember what happened. I tried to make a reference to that with the Professor Sprout incident...she remembered what had happened in the class and administered the potion to everyone.

Oh! And anyone on Neopets if you could spare a vote for my elephante in the BC starting on the fifth I'd be very grateful! The link is on my profile!

Anyone who reviews gets a large handful of candy, including pixie sticks! And you'd better appreicte them, I don't give pixie sticks out often, they're my fave. XD

**Reviewer's Comments:**

**LishaChan** Extra? XD I have to agree with that. I agree your fave parts are some of mine. I mean, Mrs. Weasley was just hilarious! I luv that woman!

**ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies** I can vouch for that...my dad burned the chocolate chip a few days ago...I stayed upstairs while fans were set up. XD Me too, I see them almost as brother and sister. n.n

**VioletNeo4** My sister is worse with sewing XD Here's an example. When we were in girl scouts, we had a sash that we sewed our badges on, right? She sewed the badges on...as well as the back of the sash to the front! I am fortunately not that bad. God granted me some minimal amount of talent XD Won't ask about the song...I have odd moments like that too.

**blackrosebunny451** I can't believe it either! I'm not allowed to stay up so I've decided to buy the whole series on DVD. n.n You don't like Pansy? Oh well, she can't be loved by everyone. XD I would probably have her put in a straight jacket so nothing would be done to me or the house...scary little child.

**Mashed-Potato01** Aww, how cute! I have a twin sister and ten year old bratty brother. No fun at my house. I wish I had younger siblings...but then again, after all the babysitting I'm forced to do I think I'm kinda glad to be able to relax around my house. XD

**MeLiO** Oh the project grand finale...don't worry, that is going to be majorly funny. I mean, think of all the embarassing pics these three can take of each other or others take of them...I find the afro insanely funny. I am seriously going to have to draw that!

**CherryBlossomAngel-225** Each stays as a child for two weeks...don't worry though. I won't stay with Draco for an entire two weeks...otherwise the fic would have like eighty chapters! I'll probably skip a few days inbetween to keep it moving.

**LiLbLueangeL1223** Hehe, a bossy girl. I like that! XD Actually, Harry and Ginny can't be kids together. T.T Ginny is only in fifth year, the class is only for sixth. Darn it. But I can have Ginny care for a little Harry. I agree, the moment there between Draco and Mione was really sweet. Someone once told me I was a burnt marshamallow...angsty on the outside and in writing and then sweet and fluffy on the inside. It is now my fave analogy to myself. XD Draco is really sweet and caring I have to agree to also. I wish Rowling could make him that way in the books...I mean, we have a chance, sort of. He did warn Hermione in GoF to get away from the camp, right?

**DanielLover00** Oh, it'll be more then interesting...it's going to be downright hilarious! I can absolutely not wait! Poor Harry and Draco...

**Bronwen **Snowing? In October! That's terrible! It's never been that bad for me! XD I was probably almost as bad...and with a twin it means double trouble. My parents had such a wonderful time raising us...I mean, we made huge messes, almost strangled the parakeets (by accident!) and did other little horrible things. I prefer to see myself as an angel though. Orange crush? You mean the drink? ::looks confused:: I worshiped Harry/Ginny first too...when I first heard of D/Hr I was like 'what the hell?' Now I'm addicted!

**CircleOfStone** XD just like my brother! How old is your cousin? I won't make you choose...Hmmm, older Draco with spiky hair... ::joins in drooling:: I think I might make him spike it later...we'll see. but Kami! That would look so hot!

**Saiyachick** My fave charcater there is Trunks...definite angst can be found with him. And Vegeta! n.n I'm curious...is Bra, Trunk's sister? I'm so confused with the new characters that keep popping up? XD I probably sound like an idiot...

**dizzydragon** Me too! I can stand sometimes to see Draco/Ginny (if it is extremely well written and has a very good plot line) but otherwise only Draco/Hermione for me! They are like the absolute best pairing ever created! I'm still curious as to who created the first fic with them as a couple! n.n I luv long fics too! When I see a story that sounds interesting and it has like fifteen or more chapters I always get really excited. I mean, one-shots are good too but I prefer long. I plan on entertaining you immensely with the little Hermione...watch out Hogwarts, Hermione is a chibi! MWAHAHAHA ::cough::

**ilovetom88** Definetly the best! Although snickerdoodle comes in a close second. XD I luv having it, so excited! I got to drive to the music store! Of course my mom doesn't know though. lol she would seriously kill me and my dad.

**FlickFlick** Your very welcome. Now if only they were real...I would seriously die laughing to actually see Daniel Radcliffe with an afro! And Tom with spiky hair....that I'd just pass out from love. XD

**scarlet-knight13** It is...we have a dog but I don't think he would mine having a cat in the family. What's worse, I met the other three kittens and now I'm madly in love! I was going to sneak one home but the punishment from my parents would have been much too severe for my liking.

**charmedsisters** Yeah, but it is my most updated fic. Most haven't been updated in over a month! O.o I'm glad the chapters are a good length...I hate it when you've been waiting forever for an update and the author finally posts...with about only 2000 words. I seriously think murder is the second thing on everyone's mind. XD

**TwistedAngel** What's funny is I've never even seen another parenting fic yet everyone is always saying mine is very unique compared to the others XD Guess I have to look harder. I'm glad you find mine enjoyable, I try hard.

**Yokai Cesia and Chi** He will forever be imprinted as cute and adorable in my mind. XD I really can't think of any other words to describe him, those seem to fit perfectly! Pansy is so sweet too...in a different sort of way. I liked how she curtsied at the end when she'd been nothing but trouble earlier

**Ginny-W13** Will do! I hope the ending was oki...I don't want to rush anything but that seemed like a good time for her to admit her feelings.

**BIGHARRYFAN** The title fit really well...I loved it too! I always try to make the titles of chapters interesting but not give everything away. I wouldn't have killed her...I would just put her in a straight jacket until Blaise and Neville came to pick her up.

**Gertyke** Hehe, I loved that part! Pink is my fave color so it had to go in the fic somewhere on someone. I hope this chapter wasn't too I wrote it again on Saturday and part of today. XD I really need to find time during the week!

**kat6528** Here it is. A bit more serious, but the end I think was rather funny.

**Moon-n-Universe-Goddess** Your penname is so kewl! Luv it! I'm glad ya like it! n.n

**Emma Lee18** That's oki Emily-Chan. If I were a reviewer in this fic, I'd do ctrl f to find my name....otherwise I'd be there for quite a while. XD Very happy this pace fit with you...hope this one did too.

**JeanMarie** In two weeks...I'll probably speed up the time between that since I don't really want an eighty chapter fic XD I'm going to make Harry very...interesting. You'll see.

**Liz **hehe, thanx!

**The Stump** Yes and yes to both of your questions. n.n Draco is going to be very changed...I personally can't wait to see Pansy, she's going to have to be nicer to those little Gryffindors.

**stars around the moon** I hope you do. I'm not that good with directions. That's why I always use mapquest when I have to get directions to give to a friend. XD

**Callie** I don't get study hall. T.T My school has this stupid schuedling where you only take four classes a quarter...(so one whole semester of math is actually a full year!) So that means I'm taking two years worth of math in one year! O.o It's too much! XD You're writing a novel? Kewl! Me too, though it's more angst then funny. What's yours about?

**Pia O'Leary** Maybe she's hyde's twin or distant relative? XD I luv her! That's how I am sort of. Outwardly cheerful but then I turn around and can act like a realy devil. Oopsie! No more baths in the house! I luv labradors! I've always wanted a black one but my mom didn't want something all black. I think I might get one when I move out. I luv hot topic! Cute but slightly odd shirt...I honestly don't know what I'd do with an extra eyeball. XD

**Smileystar04 **Reviews always make me feel better n.n It can always be counted on! What do you think of the goodie bags on Neopets? I hope I get something really rare! Or something for my packrat! In need of those items! XD

**paprika90** The G1? How'd it get that name? hehe your welcome. I'm hoping someone wishes me a happy bday on mine...last year no one did. T.T What really stinks is how my bday is like one week before winter break...I would really have liked to sleep in. XD Have fun driving!

**blue-hair-rocks** I am so jealous!!! ::steals posters:: I want one! ::hands them back and adds to birthday list:: I have a wall hanging of YYH and I kiss Hiei every night. Too bad he isn't real. XD I want the DVD for my birthday, can you believe I don't own it yet? And my dad informed me today he preferred that stupid commodor over Jack! I blew! XD Jack is so much better then Norrington! lol

**trapped-in-a-dream** It is kind of cute...if you don't mind having your hair endangered. XD j/k I wouldn't mind watching her...as long as she was in a straight jacket! Kewl penname btw!

**LosOjosDeLaVida** Awww, Bobby the stuffed dogs. I have to uncle bobs and a cousin named bobby...name is very popular in my family. XD And two aunt patties, to cousins named Katie, two uncle Daves, and a few other odd pairings...and almost all the boy cousins on my mom's side start with the letter 'j' cept for dan.

**Lulu LABs23** I couldn't! Give him the lemon drop Dumblydorr! I already have a fun activity planned for Care of Magical chaos, who couldn't luv it? I never hand out the threats, too nice for my own good. XD I think the worse I've ever threatened is they would hve to go in the time-out chair for five minutes. I agree, Ginny finally came out as a strong, courageous female in OoTP. I'm glad Rowling did that, we needed more of her. I won't hold you to it, I'll just wish. XD Here was a sweet, Draco Harry bonding moment. I'm so glad they're finally comfortable with each other. I plan on having more uncle sev...just gotta find out where to put him in.

**!Matt! **I know, I try. But it is the stupid spellcheck. How come you weren't at the play on Friday? The rest of your school's drama club was and so was I! I miss you too. T.T I sat with Emily, so I got to see her! n.n

**Caitlin** Your opinion was exactly how I planned it. n.n Although Harry and Ginny might still be able to sneak in when Mione is a kid. Then again, dunno if Harry will have any time for that sort of thing XD I get to use a loaf of bread! Yay! XD I'd rather have a baby. Sounds like you'd rather have the bread, huh?

**YamiClara** I wish Malik could come back! I mean, I know we see him really later on when the gang travels to Egypt (I read all the episode guides XD) but I want him now. Do you like Mai's new voice actor? I preferred the old one....she sounds odd now. I luv Ryou too! Such a sweetie!

**Geeses 2 be** It is. n.n Thanx very much for your review. Hope to see you again!

**crazee** Thanx I try to keep everything interesting and kind of funny. From most reviews, I'd say I'm doing pretty good with both. n.n

**citcat299** Hehe, people thought I was dead when I broke my wrist...it's a bit hard to type with only one hand. XD So when I came back there a was a huge celebration lol I luv it when people promise updates...I hate waiting, impatience is one of my rather bad traits

**rockslutgothpunk** How come you don't celebrate? I would die if I didn't get my candy supply! It normally lasts until Christmas and then the Christmas supply to easter and then easter to the end of the school year and then I go w/o candy until Halloween again. I put that quote on my fave quotes page. XD I found it simply adorable! Yeah, grammer and spelling were never good friends of mine. I've been trying to proofread, but my spellcheck keeps re editing some things it isn't supposed to. In one story it edited, (and I didn' t catch it till after I updated) that the orange jucie drank my two characters. O.o I'm quite positive I didn't write it that way. XD

**demongirl12000** I take it you didn't like Pansy? Oh well. Thanx for your review!

**cocoaducks** Thank you. Cute penname

**The Mage of Willowbottom** XD as I said earlier to a different comment, I've never seen another parenting fic. Could you give me the name of one? I'm quite curious to see it? XD I'm glad this one got your attention!

**Hawaiian-Rachael** Thanx. n.n Here's another chappie!

**Elizabeth the 4rth** Neither can I. He probably won't be as changed as Draco will be (I think he's going to be changed the most) but I still can't wait!

**coffeentoffee** Well that's odd...Yes, such a sweet child. ::cough:: I'm sure Harry and Mione could say something completely different on that topic. Grats on sending it early! Yay for coffee!!

**Stormy Skies** It was a very fitting title. I think my fave of this story. XD

**BlueBabyAquaGirl** Happy Halloween to you too! I luv Harry with an afro! Do you think Rowling could put that in by request?


	8. Prophecies New and Old

**Disclaimer: Tum de dum dum. Tra la la la. I don't own Harry Potter. Wa wa wa. **

**Parenting Class**

**Prophecies; New and Old**

Ginny released Harry from her grasp and sat back on her haunches, watching the dazed boy for a reaction, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and pride.

Harry stared at the girl, emerald eyes sparkling mischievously. Without warning, he pulled Ginny forward and into another kiss, her eyes widening this time. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she deepened the kiss.

Slowly, applause started to break out around the room, loud hoots and cheers rising to the rafters. Two minutes later, the kiss was still going and so was the clapping, Draco cackling in Hermione's arms.

"ENOUGH!" Snape came striding down to the kissing teenagers, normally placid face twisted in a snarl. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for inappropriate behavior!"

"But Uncle Sev," Draco protested, clinging to the Head Slytherin's robes, "I made Ginny do it...punish me too."

The hall, which had been quite silent after Snape's outburst, fell absolutely quiet at hearing Draco's words. Snape punish his godson? Not possible.

Through clenched teeth Snape muttered, "twenty points to Gryffindor for nothing." With a sweep of his robes, the professor stalked away and out the doors, into the pitch-blackness of the rest of the castle.

Draco was immediately pulled into a gigantic hug by Ginny, the girl squeezing him like a teddy bear. "You are the sweetest little thing ever!" she exclaimed, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"And he's mine!" cooed Hermione, plucking the child out of Ginny's grasp and hugging him to her. "All mine!" Then on second thought she handed him back to Ginny. "Harry get in the picture with them and give Ginny a kiss," she ordered, pulling out her cameral. "I need to get a picture of this."

Harry shifted over so he sat next to his new girlfriend, Draco in Ginny's lap with a large smile on his face. Bending over, Harry kissed Ginny on the cheek and Hermione snapped a photo, along with almost everyone else in the great hall.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER, HARRY?" demanded Ron, storming across the room, a large bandage around his hand.

"Don't you know, Ron?" grinned Ginny. "We're now a couple." The older brother's mouth opened and closed like a fish until Hermione gently pushed his jaw back up and held it in place. "Oh? Is your hand feeling better?"

Ron nodded, still staring at his younger sister and best friend. Walking slowly forward he gestured for Harry to stand up, the other Gryffindor doing so. "If you ever do anything to my sister, you will be in deep trouble. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Harry said, face serious. "I promise to never do anything to hurt Ginny...you have my word."

"Good." Both boys looked at each other before shaking hands and smiles lighting on both of their faces. Hermione smiled, the brother-sister bond very sweet in her opinion. To Ginny it wasn't as she blushed and stuck her tongue out at Ron.

"Can we get breakfast now?" Draco whined, the whole group bursting into laughter and the rest of the students going back to their own conversations.

"Of course," Hermione said. She handed a plate to Draco, still comfortable on Ginny's lap, and settled herself down to her friend. "So how's it feel to be an official couple?" she queried, poking Ginny.

"Not much different," Ginny admitted. "Only now I guess we can kiss and stuff...but since I've always liked him I guess I was already used to him."

"Makes sense," Hermione agreed. "Do you really think we won't have classes today?"

"Probably...but then ag-"

"ATTENTION STUDENTS!" called Dumbledore from the front of the room. "Ah, thank you," he said, as silence fell. "We currently have several weather witches putting charms around the school so classes will continue as normal for the day." His announcement was met with large groans and some muttered curses. "Please finish your breakfast and then head to your first class. Thank you."

"And guess what class that is?" Harry smirked at Hermione. "Divination."

Hermione gripped one the marble pillars in the hall tightly and glared at Harry. "You will never take me," she solemnly declared, eyes burning with determination.

"Just watch me," Harry smirked, wrapping both arms around Hermione's waist and pulling her backwards. She only clung tighter to the pole before kicking Harry firmly in the stomach.

He dropped her instantly, clutching his stomach. "That's the same place Pansy kicked me!" he gasped, doubling up in pain.

"Oh Harry! Are you all right?" Letting go of the pillar, Hermione knelt next to Harry, only to be flipped over his shoulder, the boy laughing evilly. "PUT ME DOWN!" Hermione screamed as Harry clambered to his feet and wrapped one arm around Hermione's legs to keep them from kicking her. "RIGHT NOW HARRY POTTER!"

Harry ignored the girl and exited the hall, torches now lining the halls and shining brightly. Draco scrambled off of Ginny's lap and trotted after the duo, wisely staying out of range of Hermione's fists that were currently lashing out everywhere.

"How come Hermione is yelling?" Draco asked Harry.

"BECAUSE!" shrieked Hermione. "HERMIONE DOESN'T WANT TO GO TO DIVINATION! SHE HATES IT!" Several students walking down the corridor stopped and stared at the unnatural outburst from the witch. "DIVINAION CAN DIE! DIE AND BURN! BURRRRRNNNN!"

"Silencio," Harry muttered, Hermione stopping mid-rant. All this did was make the Gryffindor angrier and she started to slam her tightly balled hands onto Harry's spine, still yelling.

"I think she's mad at you," Draco observed. "Shouldn't you take that spell off of her?"

"And lose my hearing? No thanks."

For the next five minutes, Harry was silent as he put all of his energy into climbing all the way to the North Tower with Hermione. "Only...three hundred steps...to go," Harry panted, pausing on the stairwell.

"Why don't you just levitate Hermione?" Draco asked. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

Harry looked over his shoulder and Mione's head to Draco, back to Hermione, and then sighed. "Now why didn't I think of that?" Uttering the spell, the girl floated off his shoulder and into thin air, floating and thrashing angrily. Altering the spell to make Hermione follow him, Harry started back up the stairs, a spring to his step.

They arrived at the tower seconds later, the trapdoor already open and a ladder dropped down. "Do we have to go all the way up there?" gulped Draco, looking fearfully into the black space.

"It'll be okay," Harry assured, picking Draco up and climbing the ladder, Hermione soaring up behind him.

The room was the same as always...incense burning over a fire making the whole room seem sticky, red poufs and chairs placed around tiny, circular tables, and the velvet curtains drawn.

"Ah ha!" Draco uttered a soft scream and buried his face in Harry's shirt as the professor emerged from the shadows next to the fire. She was clothed in a sparkly, purple robe with a gauzy green shawl, the usual assortment of bangles and necklace adorning her bony frame.

"Hello, Professor," Harry greeted, removing the silencing spell off of Hermione, who now floated eerily silent, staring daggers at Trelawney. "It's....erm...nice to see you again..."

"Feeling is the same, dearie," the professor said, swooping down to place a hand on Harry's cheek. "Much too cold for such a day...a coincidence of the aligning of mars perhaps?" Trelawney pulled open a book and started to leaf through it as Harry settled Draco on Hermione's lap. "My dear boy," she murmured, "you shall become very ill shortly and die!"

Hermione snorted and Draco's eyes widened in horror. "You're going to die, Harry! You can't die!" He burst into sudden tears and clung to Hermione, who (if possible) glared harder at Trelawney.

"Look what you've done! Don't say those kind of things around Draco!"

"But it is true! My Inner Eye tells me so. I must state the truth as I see it!"

By that time, other students had arrived to witness the sobbing Draco and Trelawney announcing Harry's death for the second time. "Please professor," begged Lavender, entering with Terry on her hip, "don't let the children hear that...they're too young for the horrors they one day must face."

Trelawney blinked, as if for the first time seeing several younger students in her classroom, all watching her with wide eyes save Draco, still crying into Hermione's robes. "I see your point, Miss Brown. Please, everyone sit down so we may begin to explore the inner depths of lighting patterns."

The whole class eased themselves into the too squishy of chairs and waited for the teacher to continue, Hermione sighing impatiently and drumming her nails on the table. Hey, just because she came didn't mean she had to be nice.

"I'd like to welcome you all back to a wonderful year of Divination," Trelawney started, peering at each person over the rims of her gigantic glasses. "I am quite certain we all," -here she looked pointedly at Hermione- "will learn and possibly enjoy the wonders of the mysterious world of the Inner Eye." Lavender and Parvarti were all attention, leaving Ron with little Terry, the child baring his teeth and grinning at his current guardian.

"Today is a perfect day to do lightning readings," Trelawney continued, moving across the room and throwing open the drapes. "Take out your copies of 'Unfogging the Future' and turn to the section on lightning patterns."

The shuffling of papers and the flipping of pages was the only sound for several seconds, until a large crash of thunder sounded. Draco screamed, and buried his head back into Hermione's robes, that he'd just come out of.

"Are you scared of the thunder, little one?" Trelawney slowly walked over to the crying Draco, her hand lighting on his shoulder. He whimpered and drew himself more against Hermione. "They say those afraid of the thunder will grow to be great," she whispered, voice misty, mouth next to the child's ear. "They'll have power, riches, their desires fulfilled...but it also comes with a price. Greatness comes from the powerful...but yet the power must always be paid for...think about it...only you can change your destiny."

"As I was saying," Trelawney said, voice back to normal, "Study the lightning patterns and compare them to those in your books. Write a summary for each formation you see...I'll be collecting them at the end of the class so make sure you do them well. At least three are needed."

With that, the professor swept back to her desk where she sat, gazing into a crystal orb, every now and then looking up at Harry, sighing, and then going back to her crystal gazing.

"What did that woman mean?" Draco sniffled; relaxing slightly as he realized the teacher was no longer next to him.

"She's just speaking gibberish," Hermione admonished. "Don't listen to a word she says...a fraud, that's what that woman is."

Draco remained strangely silent the rest of the class, occasionally letting out a shriek as the thunder let out an especially large boom, but generally content to sit in Hermione's lap and watch the girl angrily sketch in the lighting pattern onto parchment.

"This isn't good," Harry groaned. "If that old bat sees these she'll just have new ways to predict my death."

"Why?" Hermione asked, pulling Harry's parchment to her.

"This one," the boy said pointing to one of the figures, "means destruction is coming. The second one speaks of a raging plague, and the third one talks about flaming infernos...why do I always get bad omens?"

"Because you're you," Hermione laughed, ignoring the heated stares from Lavender and Parvarti as she interrupted their concentration. "Mine weren't too bad," she said softer. "I have a pot of gold for riches, warnings of falling stairs, and I will fall in love with the unexpected."

"Falling stairs?" Harry repeated. "Guess you'd better double check all the stair cases before you walk on them," he grinned. "And who's the lucky guy?"

"You're in love too?" Draco piped up, looking curiously at Hermione's paper. The two Gryffindors exchanged looks over the table, Harry smirking and Hermione's eyes widening.

"You don't think-"

"Oh I do, Hermione. I do." Harry looked down at the Slytherin, now doodling on a spare piece of parchment with Hermione's quill. "It would definitely be unexpected."

"No way! That's stupid, Harry. And besides, it's just nonsense anyway."

"What she said about the thunder wasn't nonsense," Harry whispered, not wanting Draco to overhear.

"Explain, Harry," Hermione hissed.

"Power, desires fulfilled...yet it comes with a price. Can you think of a way someone might become powerful?"

"Studying?"

Harry sighed. "Think harder, Hermione. Dark arts...that kind of power."

"A Death Eater," she breathed, glancing over at Draco, still busy drawing.

"They have all the power they could want," Harry whispered. "And it does come with a price...you're an eternal servant to Voldemort until you die. I mean, look at Snape! He's stuck with them!"

"It's just coincidence, Harry. It isn't true! The only thing she ever said right was back in third year when she was talking about...about..." Hermione trailed off, seeing the desolate look enter Harry's eyes. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bring him up," she said softly. "I know it still hurts." Harry gave a curt nod, blinking back the tears gathering in the corners of his emerald eyes.

"Look!" Draco said happily, holding up his drawing. "It's us!" Three people had been drawn on the paper, a small one in the middle and two taller ones on the sides. "This one is you, Hermione," he explained, pointing to the figure wearing a skirt, had long hair, and over exaggerated eyelashes. "And this is you Harry!" The famous scar had been drawn messily onto the boy's head and he wore pants. "And that's me!" The figure in the middle held hands with each Gryffindor, a smile on all of their faces.

"It's wonderful, Draco," Hermione congratulated, giving the child a hug. "We'll have to hang it up in our room, won't we?"

"Uh huh. I want to remember staying with you forever! Can I...take it home with me when I have to go?"

"Of course..." Hermione pulled Draco into a sudden hug. "But I'm never sending you back," she murmured into his hair, too soft for the child to make out.

A chime tinkled in the corner of the room. "Class is over," Trelawney announced. "Please put your work on the table and continue with your event diaries." Hermione scooped Draco into her arms and descended the ladder, Harry putting both of their papers on the table and following.

As they were walking to their next class (transfiguration) the torches all down the hall and students screamed, Draco one of them. Harry quickly pulled out his wand and murmured 'lumos', a soft glow standing out amongst the blackness, others slowly following his example.

"There, there," comforted Hermione, rubbing soothing circles on Draco's back, "it's all right...see? It isn't dark anymore."

"I thought Dumbledore said the weather witches fixed everything enough so we could have classes," Harry grumbled. "We'd better just head to transfig...McGonagall might have something to say."

When the trio arrived in the classroom, McGonagall was lighting candles on her desk. "Please take a seat," she instructed. "I have an announcement from Professor Dumbledore once everyone arrives."

Over the next few minutes, students trickled in, the chatter normally accompanying them gone as everyone glanced over their shoulder into the dark, as if expecting some monster to leap out.

"It appears," began McGonagall, "that we won't be having any more classes today. We've been informed the storm is too powerful for our weather witches to hold off any longer...please report to your current quarters. House elves will bring you lunch and dinner. I request you do not leave your dorm room. If you do, points will be taken and detentions given. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," the class chorused.

"Good. For homework I want you to read chapter one of your 'Muffins to Mongooses' book and answer the questions following the reading. Class dismissed."

"All right!" Harry punched the air. "Free for the rest of the day!"

"Let's go," Hermione laughed, tugging the exuberant Harry behind her. They arrived inside of their roomy dwelling a little while later, a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace upon their arrival.

"Is it going to go out again?" Draco whimpered, clinging tight to Hermione as she sat down on the couch.

"If it does Harry and I have our wands," she assured. "I'm going to get started on my homework...and Harry's," she sighed, the boy happily pushing his book over to her. "Why don't you go play with Harry for a while, Draco?"

The child nodded agreeably and climbed into Harry's lap on one of the chairs. "What are you looking at?" Draco queried, looking at the book Harry was flipping through. "Who are all of those people?"

"It's my photo album," Harry said with a sad smile. "These two people right here are my parents...and that's me."

"I like your mom's hair...I wish I had red hair." Hermione snorted behind the textbook. "Can I meet her?"

"She's dead."

"I'm sorry," Draco apologized.

"I didn't really know her...there's nothing to be sorry for."

Draco flipped the next page. "Who's that?" His finger pointed to a man, one arm wrapped around Lily's shoulder and the other around James', his black hair tied at the nape of his neck and a wide smile on his face.

"My godfather," Harry said stiffly, flipping to the next page quickly.

"Did he die too?" Harry looked at the child puzzled, wondering how he knew. "It's in your eyes," Draco explained. "They're sad...not as sparkly as they were earlier...do you miss him?"

"Very much," Harry sighed, shoulders slumping.

"How did he die?"

"Last year...Voldemort tricked me into going into the ministry...my godfather came to help and he...he fell through this one curtain and disappeared."

"A curtain? Why didn't he just come back out?"

"It made him go somewhere...and he's never coming back." A single tear dripped on to the waving picture of Sirius that the book had flipped back too. Several more followed, till Harry just sat there, one arm hugging Draco and the other clutching the album, his tears falling onto the open pages. "And it was all my fault too," he whispered brokenly, "all my fault."

Hermione quickly got off of the couch and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. "None of that was your fault, Harry...you didn't ask to get that scar, or the fame...nothing is your fault."

"But if I'd learned occlumency then none of this would have happened...none of it. And we didn't even need to know that blasted prophecy! Dumbledore already knew it!"

"He what?" Hermione gasped, hand flying to her mouth. "What do you mean, Harry?"

"That was just a copy of the damn thing...Dumbledore had the real one in his pensive. Trelawney said it when she was younger. Basically said that only one of us can live and the other has to die. He knew it and he didn't bother to tell me!"

"He probably had his reasons..."

"It still isn't an excuse. It affects me personally...I had a right to know."

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, completely confused.

"Nothing anymore," Hermione said firmly, pulling the photo album out of Harry's hands and placing it on the table. "Let's not think about that right now..."

"You're right," Harry sniffled, removing his glasses and wiping his eyes. "Let's all ready a story together."

And that's what the three did the rest of the day...read stories, ate the delicious food the house elves brought up (after all, who can resist steamed squid?), taught Draco how to play chess, and just lay on the couches, content to just sit.

"I'm tired," Draco yawned. "Can I just spend the night here?" The child was currently using Harry's leg as a pillow and curled up like a cat. "My room's so dark..."

In reply, Hermione conjured a blanket and draped it over the child, tucking it in at the edges. "Good night, Draco," she murmured, planting a soft kiss on his forehead. Harry did the same, and Draco fell asleep seconds later.

Hermione gave a sigh and ran her fingers through the silky hair, adoration clear in her eyes. When she looked up, accusation was in Harry's. "Told you," he smirked. "Your lightning pattern was right."

"Was not," Hermione protested. "I just think he's sweet...when he's older again he'll probably be the same jerk we knew before."

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"Yes."

"No you don't...remember what Dumbledore said? They'll remember everything from when they were like this. Don't you think he might be changed, even a little?"

"Probably...but that doesn't mean I'm going to fall in love with him!" she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "Maybe we can all be friends...but fall in love? It's crazy talk!"

"I don't know, Mione. There's just something special about him...I mean, look what he made Ginny do! If he's like this now, doesn't it mean he has to have some heart left in the present? He truly adores you...I wouldn't put it past for you two to fall in love."

"And you'd agree to that?" Hermione laughed. "All you've ever wanted to do was kill him and now you want me to start liking him?"

"Well...he isn't Malfoy anymore."

"Who is he then?"

"Draco."

"Come on Mione, let's go to bed. We're going to have a lot of classes tomorrow."

Hermione snuggled down on the couch, while Harry leaned backwards, not wanting to wake up the sleeping Slytherin. Within moments, the room was silent, everyone fast asleep.

The next morning sunlight streamed through the window, landing directly on Harry's face. With a groan he sat up and put on his glasses. Draco rose too, and ran to the window. "It's not raining today!" he exclaimed happily. Running back to the couch he jumped onto Hermione's stomach and began to bounce. "Wake up Hermione! Wake up!"

"I'm...up," she wheezed, "just...get...off." Obediently, Draco hopped down to the floor. "What are we going to do today?"

"_RRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!_" The three looked out the window to see Hagrid holding a thick, metal chain and tugging on it, the thing at the end not visible. Hermione paled.

"We are going to be eaten."

**Author's Notes:**

And once more, typing on Sunday XD I would update every two weeks, but I know you all expect me every Sunday so that's what I plan on doing. I've just been so busy with all this final testing...not to mention the fact I missed it cuz I went to Chicago with my art group to the S.O.F.A. Exhibit. Had a lot of fun though. I bought a stuffed elephant at Navy Pier...he's the cutest, fuzziest thing!

Speaking of elephants, my elephante, Star, is entered in this weeks Neopets BC. Link is on my profile...would you care to vote?

Also, sorry for once more diving into the angst...I just thought Sirius deserved to be recognized and the events from fifth year. After all, it is pretty important stuff. And if most haven't noticed, I honestly quite like Trelawney XD Made her a rather helpful character in BOW n.n

Nothing much else to say, cept please do leave a review if you are in the mood and have a fun week at school (if that's even possible) XD

**Reviewer's Comments:**

**Gertyke** Hehe, I've noticed I keep saying 'bloody hell' all the time now. It's really weird...I would love to have Pansy over more often! XD I fell asleep standing up once at a party...my dad woke me up. I was only out for a few minutes but it still strikes me as funny.

**LishaChan **I'm very glad too. Draco needs to have a good 'father figure' and Harry is perfect! Maybe he can take him flying sometime...that'd be interesting.

**kat6528** The last part was my fave too. n.n I luv word games and that one was fun! I like to do the same thing at my house sometimes...but most often when I'm walking you know how sometimes two people meet and they both step to go around? I always go the direction they do and we normally get stuck for a little while. It's funny to watch but rather embarassing XD

**CherryBlossomAngel-225** Totally a kodak moment. I luv harry/draco bonding, as long as it isn't slash. Friendship is perfect. n.n I'm glad Hermione got a picture...now if I could only get a copy of it!

**blackbird fly** They are an awesome couple! The fiery redhead with the courageous black haired....yep, defintley a cute match.

**scarlet-knight13** Hehe, it did. I kept parading down the streets and jingling whenever I could. Simply luv the costume! My mom wouldn't let me wear the shoe jangalies to school the next day though T.T Oh well. Dogs are probably my fave too. They're all so cute! I'd like a pet koala too...unfortunatley I think that's illegal.

**dracodolenz** Sorry, Harry is first. Then Hermione. I want to get the D/Hr action going a lil bit in the middle of the fic, not wait until the very end. But I'll make both of them have a lot of excitment in their little lives.

**ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies** Yep, Harry is next...I'm assuming about six-eight chappies we'll see the next kid. I still have a lot to cover with Draco. XD I just luv him so much!

**paprika90** ::gets it:: lol My b-day is in December, so you're quite a bit early. XD Can't wait though...a little more then a month and I'll be 16! Yay! It would be nice if I could get my b-day off...unfortunatley my school board is mean so I won't get my wish. XD

**ObsidianRaven** XD Really? So cute! So you know how all those little word games and the teasing ends up? Luv ur username! The dark, mysterious ones always hook on me somehow.

**Laen** Me too. I luv side couples! In another ficcy, I put Remus/Tonks on the side of Draco/Mione. n.n Glad I could make you laugh. n.n

**Puzzlette** Of course I'll write about the other two. We can't leave them without being chibified. XD It's going to be a pretty long fic, but it is a favorite and my most popular. I don't know if I will be able to end it...too much fun!

**LiLbLueangeL1223** Uh huh, Ginny can take Little Harry under her care for a little while so Draco and Mione can have some 'alone time' XD Yep, father son. And I'm going to make Draco be a good daddy to Harry...And if Rowling doesn't she's going to have major trouble. XD Watch out, the attack of the ff writers!

**Hiscefit** Thank you n.n

**blackrosebunny451** ::nods:: the dogs would go crazier. Can you imagine her high-pitched voice all over...it'd be like a siren. Those poor puppies ::hugs my dog:: I'd honestly be quite interested to see what she dressed up as...scream or a faerie?? XD

**Saiyachick** Blaise and Ginny? Never heard that one before. Have read a bit of Blaise/Hermione though but it always turned Draco/Mione. Hmmm...Blaise would be a good choice for her though if written right. Glad Harry still works well though.

**UrS0D00rk3y** Yes, I noticed too ::slaps self:: And I thought I actually proof-read...I went back and fixed it though. still feeling very embarassed though. I know I should know this, but I'm wondering how they'll act too...I mean, are they going back to last names or still first name basis? I'd better get some outlines written.

**valentines-hater** I say...you're right! XD

**samhaincat** OMK! You're right! I am going to so make a part on that! Maybe he will...I'm not sure. I mean, he lives in a dungeon so he's bound to have gotten over it, ne? So no, he probably won't be but ya never know. my muses can act very odd at times.

**shedoc10** The photos at the end are going to be great! Basically a grand finale to the fic so you can see everything that happened during it. They really do take each problem and deal with it as it comes...wish I could do the same XD

**Pia O'Leary** Hmmmm, wonder why that happened. It wouldn't let me read a fic a few days ago...the screen just kept freezing. I loved the ending. I was stuck origanally and I didn't know what I wanted to happen after she shouted she liked Harry. And then I guess I got bit by the brilliance bug and my ending was formed. I luv storms too! I luv to write during them (they inspire me) but lately the power keeps going out when I do so and I lose all of my work XD

**FlickFlick** Voldie is kinda like the monster under our beds if we think about it. Who knows...Harry Potter is probably the story kids luv to hear and Voldie is the evil monster who will eat you if you don't brush your teeth XD

**Twisted Angel** I know, so embarassed about the imp. I proofread it but I guess that part I missed. I did go back and edit it so I feel a little better...but still very stupid. you put an 's' in front of 'he' and you've got real problems. ::sigh:: When you say rare, does that mean you don't normally read D/Hr? Just curious.

**Alenor** Don't feel bad...I forget to review sometimes too...what's worse is when I forget someone in the RC's...done that before and I feel terrible! I have a lot...my main account is the one with the elephante on it and I have four more...don't go on them really anymore though. I've been thinking about disabling them, but one of them has a lab map on it! XD

**ShadowOfMoonlight** Wow! thank you! ::feels honoured::

**The Stump** Their bout reminds me a lot me arguing with my friend Matt...we can do so forever and always manage to confuse each other...::shrugs:: tis fun though. XD

**ilovetom88** I'm glad she took a picture too! Too cute of a moment to pass up without something to remember it by, right? Kami, writing this I seriously want a little Draco...and not a plushie either XD

**RiRiana** Arigatou! I really don't know why anyone could do that...but Lucius (in my book) is truly evil. Maybe pixies did make them.. O.o that'd be interesting. ::eats buckets of candy:: oh kami, I think I'm going to get a stomach ache from that. XD

**BIGHARRYFAN** Chris...his last name wouldn't happen to be Rankins, would it? Cuz a Chris I knew (my old bf) used to give me pixie sticks all the time...and he's in drama. Probably not, but still odd coincidence. A French robber? Very interesing.

**JeanMarie** My fave ships too! Although I also love Tonks/Remus. Odd couple, but cute nonetheless n.n I luv the picture Draco drew...I was always drawing my family when I was little.

**VioletNeo4 **You have to send me a picture of the plushie after you make it! It's going to be so cute! i know it! Native American? Awesome! I spent over six hours a few years ago seweing little beads onto a brown dress so my sister could go as a NA and she didn't even say thank you! ::growls:: mean sister....

**tigerlily727** Awww, such a sweet brother you have. I used to have to guard my lil bro all the time...he hadn't a clue how to stand up for himself. I luv Draco kicking them too! Very protective of Pansy, isn't he?

**CircleOfStone** sorry bout the slow pace...we will see them...in good time. Naturally, I take things at a slow pace so we'll be with Draco for quite a few more chapters...but I will skip days to speed it up. Can't stay with him forever! I'd like to read that fic...but can't really see the eyebrow piercing...maybe an ear though...a silver hoop ::drools:: Luv spiky hair!

**Bronwen **Where do people get these names? Is there a site? If so, could I get the link? But why are Harry and Ginny Orange Crush? D/Hr I get but not them XD I felt bad for her too...glad it all worked out. Would have been terrible if he'd rejected her T.T OMK! She flashed them??? wow...I would never have done that...good for her though! I actually had fairly nice weather...wasn't too cold...just had to put a second shirt on beneath my costume at night and I was good to go n.n

**Blackat** I'll update every Sunday so look for me then n.n

**Ginny-W13** I thought it was Ginny/Snape...jk! XD One of my friends did that once...I'm proclaiming my luv for the D/Hr ship and I ask her what my fave ship is and she said Draco/Ron. I freaked majorly! XD

**Callie **Sounds kewl! If it gets published let me know, I 'd like to read it n.n I manage oki without study hall, but it'd be really helpful if I did have it.

**trapped-in-a-dream** A poem? I used to write poetry all the time...been thinking of doing some HP poems, just gotta think of some first. XD Is it an angsty kind of poem? I'd like to read that. n.n I'm glad Draco isn't scared either anymore

**charmedsisters** Very sorry bout that. I just luv them so much! XD

**rockslutgothpunk** Your tradition sounds yummy too! When I was in R.E. classes, every winter we'd take one of our shoes off and leave it in the hall, and St. Nicholas would come by with candy canes! n.n I started to distrust the tooth fairy when she wouldn't answer the letters under my pillow, and santa and the e. bunny when the notes they left matched the handwriting of my mom...

**Lulu LABs23** To acts of fluff...I like that. XD I didn't get many reviews for BT T.T I don't know if it's losing popularity or what...I even made the chapter almost complete angst.. Straight jacket!? Do you have a piccy?? I'd luv to see that!!

**The Mage of Willowbottom **Awww, thank you! I'll be sure to read one of them when I have a few spare minutes on my hands.

**Smileystar04** I'd say next age switch will be in about six-eight chappies...I know, a long time. I just have so much I wanna do with little Draco! I'm not quite ready to let him go yet! XD, yes that is what pixie sticks are...although I'd like it better if they replinished themselves. I'd be living in heaven.

**Rachael** Here's more n.n

**YamiClara** I saw it today! Valon is such a cutie! and I feel so bad for Raphael! I'm curious why he said his family left him though...he seemed to luv his brother and sister. I can't believe Seto! He won't work with them...again! I luv him and all, but he seriously needs to be brought down a notch.

**onetrueself** Thank you very much! n.n

**Stormy Skies** My sister and I just argue a lot, no do too's and do not's in our convos. XD

**MokubaDoll** That's oki. ::hugs:: I really respect myself in that sense too. I mean, I don't see anything wrong with gay pairing in the real world...I just don't like it in fanfics. It just isn't right...and I heard that girls like yaoi...well, this girl doesn't.

**BlueBabyAquaGirl **I'm so glad too! they really need to like each other! I loved the ending!! My fave part of the chappie I think. Just a perfect conclusion.

**Jessa1000 **Hehe, what do you have to say about this one? I really liked it since I know I'm going to love doing the next chappie! Please don't kill me...::cowers:: I'm too young to die!

**Secunda Snape** Yes, the others will be kids. I'd give Draco six-eight more chappies of being chibi...then Harry! n.n

**Slytherin ice princess** If I ever have time I'll check your story out. Unfortunately, I don't really get a chance to read many fics besides some of my friends T.T

**Invisible Voice** Hehe, Draco was cackling in this chappie...he's a witch too! Actually, let me rephrase...he's a wizard! XD

**coffeentoffee** ::backs slowly away with lollipop outstretched:: here's something sweet for you...Yep, Harry and Gin are finally together! A perfect item!

**Magma Rose** Gin and Harry go hand in hand together! No one else for him and no one else for her! You just made the cut off before I updated! Good thing I checked my e-mail! n.n


	9. Hermione was Right! Like always

**Disclaimer: BEWARE THE PENGUINS! THEY'RE TAKING OVER THE WORLD!!! BUT THEY HAVEN'T GOTTEN HARRY POTTER YET! AND WE SHAN'T LET THEM HAVE IT!**

**Parenting Class**

**Hermione was Right! (Like always)**

"What's on the end of that chain?" Harry asked nervously, peering down at the Forbidden forest, where the chain trailed into, Hagrid on the outside and wrapping the end of his half around a gigantic metal stake in the ground outside his house. "We don't have Care of Magical Creatures today, do we?"

"We do," Hermione answered miserably, hugging Draco to her. "But whatever Hagrid brought Dumbledore had to have approved of...right? Right? Harry?"

"There's no telling with Hagrid," Harry muttered, watching as the half-giant finished tying the chain and entered his cabin, a large grin on his face. "Whatever is on that leash sure doesn't sound too friendly."

"Are we really going to get eaten?" Draco whimpered, glancing fearfully up at Hermione.

"I was just joking," the girl assured, though she wasn't quite sure that was true. She knew in her heart Hagrid was a wonderful person who never meant to bring anything dangerous to class...but his definition of dangerous was far different then everyone else's.

"Let's just head down and hope Hagrid knows what he's doing," Harry sighed, leaving the window and entering his room. Hermione nodded her agreement and after dropping Draco off in his room, she entered her own and got dressed, pulling her hair back in a high ponytail on top of her head. If she was dealing with something dangerous, she wanted full sight available...her bushy hair wasn't going to be the result of an accident.

Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror, Hermione gave a smile of satisfaction and left, teetering slightly as she pulled her book bag over her shoulder. Harry was standing at the door with Draco, the child dressed in once more, a black shirt and pants, the black robes over it.

"We really need to get you some more clothes, Draco," she announced. "Everyday you're dressed in solid black."

"But that's all I have in my trunk," the boy pouted, "not my fault."

"Well, we do have a Hogsmeade trip coming up in two days," remarked Harry as they passed down the corridor to breakfast, a bright orange poster with the words Hogsmeade in capital letters at the top and pictures beneath it. "Maybe we can go then."

"That would work perfectly," Hermione squealed, clapping her hands together. "I can so see one of those bobble hats on you! And little red mittens!"

"Don't you think it's a bit early for winter clothes?" Harry queried, though he went unnoticed as Hermione began to plan what she was going to buy, the child walking next to her paling slightly.

Breakfast was normal, save the fact Hermione couldn't stop talking about the bobble hat and Ron didn't eat nearly as much as he normally did (only two plates today.) "Is something upsetting your stomach?" Harry asked his friend quietly, the lack of food quite noticeable.

"Didn't you hear that roar this morning?" the redhead whispered, freckles standing out starkly against his skin, white with fright. "Something bad is going to happen, I know it."

"Here comes something bad," Harry whispered back, as a small boy plopped himself down next to Ron, followed by a rather tired looking Lavender. Ron looked at Terry in horror and edged down the bench closer to Ginny, now talking to Hermione about the hat with Draco squished between them.

"Help me," Ron pleaded, pointing at the little Ravenclaw, steadily sliding towards his guardian, an impish smile on his face. "I don't like the way he's looking at me." And indeed, anyone would be scared with the child's hands wrapped around a bowl of oatmeal, preparing to throw it.

With a happy shriek, Terry launched the bowl and it flew through the air. Ron looked up as it spiraled down towards him, brown goop already raining over his head. Making a quick (yet rather stupid decision) Ron hopped over Ginny and pushed the girl into the food's path, the bowl landing on her head a second later.

The hall fell dead silent as Ginny picked the bowl up and set it on the table, oatmeal dripping down her face and clinging to her hair, brown eyes smoldering. "Ron," she said calmly, "I am going to KILL YOU!" she cried, lunging forward and tackling her brother off of the bench.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Draco asked, tugging on Hermione's robes as she watched Ginny tickling Ron, the boy bright red in the face and laughing uncontrollably, arms flailing and his legs kicking wildly, trying to dislodge his sister.

"Nah...he does deserve that," Hermione snickered, ignoring her friend's shouts for help, face turning blue from lack of oxygen.

"Should we help him now?" the child asked innocently as Ron stopped moving, face bright purple.

"RON! OH GOD! BREATHE!" Ginny shouted, pounding his chest. "WAKE UP DAMNIT!" Ron jolted and coughed, the purple fading away to a very bright red and he blinked blearily up at Ginny. "I'M SO SORRY!" she sobbed, cradling the boy's head in her arms.

"It's all right, Ginny," Ron comforted, pulling himself out of her grasp. "What are you all staring at?" he asked testily, looking around at the gawking students.

"You," a Slytherin said, smirk on his face.

Ron rose slowly from the floor, hands clenched in fists, ready for a fight. Hermione looked around the room, wondering where all the teachers happened to be. "You wanna fight?" the Gryffindor asked, striding towards the fourth year.

"Bring it on."

Just before Ron could even throw a punch a small blond haired child was standing between the two, hands outstretched. "Fighting isn't right," Draco said softly, staring straight into Ron's light blue eyes and then turning and looking at the Slytherin's dark brown. "Please don't...you'll get in trouble."

The two boys glared at each other before Ron lowered his fists and the Slytherin tucked away his wand. "Oh Draco!" gushed Pansy, rushing out and tackling her little friend. "You were so brave!" Cameras clicked at the pair, Pansy once more on top of Draco and hugging him around the neck.

"What is going on here?" came the demanding voice of Snape, striding into the Hall and seeing a large ring of students...that normally meaning a fight.

"Draco was brilliant, Uncle Sev!" Pansy cried, hugging the Potions Master around the legs. The teacher raised an eyebrow at his new name. "It is all right if I call you that, isn't it?" Pansy asked, looking adoringly up at Snape.

"You can call him Uncle Sev, Pansy," Draco smiled, hugging his beloved uncle too. "Uncle Sev doesn't mind, right Uncle Sev?"

"Of course not," Snape said warmly, ruffling Draco's hair. More cameras flashed. "What are you looking at?" Snape growled. Immediately, students turned back to their

breakfasts, not wanting to face the wrath of Snape.

"Now why didn't that happen for me?" Ron groaned, banging his head on the table.

"Because I," Snape said authoritatively, "happen to be a respected teacher at this school." With a sweep of his robes the man made his way to the head table, Draco and Pansy following along behind, unnoticed by Snape.

"Where'd Draco go?" Hermione asked, looking around for her charge. "He was here just a second ago."

"Don't look now," Ginny snickered, "but someone is going to be in big trouble." Hermione glanced up at the Head Table where Ginny was pointedly not looking and her mouth fell in horror. "Told you not to look."

Draco and Pansy were creeping along the side, putting fireworks in every plate of food, unnoticed by the teachers as they ate their meals. "Where did they get fireworks?" Hermione moaned, already seeing detention looming.

"Hey, Hermione?" asked a slightly panicked Neville, rushing over. "Have you seen Pansy?" The girl pointed. His mouth dropped. "So that's where my fireworks from Fred and George went."

"We are all going to die," Harry cried, Ginny patting his shoulder and attempting to console him. It was much to late now to warn the professors as several of the dishes began to glow a deep red in the center. Didn't mean Hermione didn't try.

"WATCH-" the dishes exploded, sausages and bacon soaring over heads, pancakes flipping onto laps, orange juice spilling, and oatmeal spraying, while brightly colored fireworks burst cheerfully overhead "out," she finished lamely.

By now the room was in utter chaos (worse then Draco's first incident at the head table) as the fireworks lit robes on fire and blinded people with the flashing. Students screamed in terror as a large one, resembling the Hogwarts Express, barreled over the Ravenclaw table, breakfast plates burning up and food flying.

"Why us?" Harry sobbed, slamming his head on the table, completely oblivious of the screaming students around him as they pushed and shoved for the door. "Why did our charge have to be friends with that girl?"

Dodging flying objects, Hermione grabbed Draco around the waist and Pansy by the hand and tugged them desperately to the exit, the children protesting, as they wanted to watch the disaster they had started.

Neville ran forward and picked Pansy up, and then bolted, Hermione close behind and Ginny yanking the still stunned Harry, now seeing little flying Firebolts around his head from the repeated banging on the table.

"Made it," Hermione gasped, dropping Draco onto the grass beneath a large tree on the school grounds, the boy tumbling and doing a somersault. "I don't think...anyone saw them."

"We were...lucky," panted Blaise, glaring at Pansy who smiled back at him and went to sit next to Draco, excited giggles being exchanged. "I could of sworn Dumbledore saw us though."

"He...probably...won't tell," puffed Ginny, clutching her rapidly beating heart. "They're just...kids after...all."

"Is Harry...okay?" wheezed Hermione, looking at the dazed looking boy.

"_RRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!" _The earth shook beneath everyone's feet as the loud cry sounded and Harry started, eyes widening.

"Well, it was great talking to you," Ginny said quickly, rising to her feet. "Bye Draco, bye Mione. Bye Harry," he said, planting a quick kiss on his cheek, "have fun with Hagrid!" The Gryffindor then sprinted off for the safety of the castle.

"I was starting to feel better," Harry muttered, clambering to his feet, "but now I'm not so sure." Draco and Pansy both ran to Hermione and hugged the girl around her legs.

"What was that?" Pansy asked, shuddering in fear.

"That is what we're going to be looking at today in Care of Magical Creatures."

"I don't wanna go!" Neville picked her up and swung her over his shoulder. "I DON'T WANNA GO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! PUT ME DOWN! DOWN I SAY! DDDDDOOOOOWWWWNNNNN!" Neville ignored her and proceeded towards Hagrid's cabin, a grim look on his round face.

Hermione did the same with Draco, although her charge just sat quietly in her arms, intrigued although still frightened. When they arrived at the cabin, Hagrid was rubbing his hands together gleefully.

"I've got a big surprise for yer today," he chuckled, smiling widely down at the class. "Jus lemme go get 'em." Sticking two fingers in his mouth, Hagrid whistled a trill and then waited. Loud stomping and crashing from the trees sounded and the ground shaking. "Ere he comes."

"Is that what I think it is?" Hermione asked faintly, the creature stepping through the trees, tossing its head proudly.

"This ere's Norbert," Hagrid said reaching up and patting the dragon on its neck. "Aw, don' worry. He's perfectly harmless," the teacher said as students backed away and began to withdraw their wands.

"Hagrid," Harry said softly, staring into the golden eyes of the dragon, "isn't Norbert supposed to be in Romania?"

"Well, ere's the thing 'Arry. Why don't you all sit down and I'll explain?" Timidly, the class sat down, wands still drawn in case they needed to defend themselves. Draco sat in Hermione's lap, watching the dragon with interest.

Norbert had grown a lot since the three Gryffindors had last seen him. He had to be about forty feet long by now! The jet black ridges along his back glistend in the sun, his scales glittering and his bronze horns too bright to look at. He sat on his haunches, a large band of metal wrapped around his mouth and attactched to the chain.

"Norbert es a Norwegian Ridgeback," Hagrid said fondly, still petting his dragon. "Des are said to be one of da rarer dragon breeds nowadays. Ridgebacks develop der fire-breathing 'bilites earlier then da other breeds..."

"What do they eat?" Draco asked, smiling up at Hagrid.

"Well...lotsa things. Normally large land mammals and water-dwelling creatures, though that is extremely rare fer a dragon ta eat."

"Can we pet him?"

"Of course," Hagrid beamed, the rest of the class looking at the little Slytherin in shock. He actually wanted to get near enough to touch it?

"Hagrid," Hermione said nervously, wrapping an arm around Draco so he couldn't leave, "how safe is Norbert?"

"Tis an interesting fact," the gamekeeper mused, looking down at the class. "Norbert was put under several stunning spells and had es claws removed. Den, dey put that band around his mouth...won't come undone unless someone undoes it. As long as he don't step you, you'll be all right."

"Can I please pet him Hermione? Please?" Draco begged, eyes shining brightly.

The girl glanced at Draco's eager looking face to the dragon, a puff of smoke exiting its nostrils, to Hagrid, looking hopeful, and sighed. "All right...but be very, very careful."

"Now, approach em carefully and slowly," Hagrid cautioned, watching as Draco ran up and then slowed down. "Jus reach out and touch his scales...right here," the half-giant said, taking Draco's small hand in his large and guiding it over the shining scales.

"They're really smooth," Draco remarked, now petting the dragon on his own, Hagrid watching like a proud father. "Can I ride him?" Tears of happiness gathered in Hagrid's eyes and he reached down and hugged Draco to him, the child squealing as he was swung around in a wide arc in the air. Giving him one last squeeze, Hagrid set the child on top of the dragon's back, right behind the wings where there were no sharp ridges.

"If everyone could come up 'ere and take one o' dese papers..." the class moved hesitantly forward and took a paper with a diagram of the dragon with blanks to fill in the parts off of a stack. "Jus sit down and finish em. When yer done, feel free ta come up an' pet Norbert."

"Looks like Draco really does resemble his name," Hermione said as she sat down in a small circle with Harry, Ron and Lavender, Terry on Lavender's lap.

"What do you mean?" asked the other Gryffindor girl, looking up and waving at Draco, still on Norbert's back, who waved back happily.

"In Latin, Draco means Dragon. I guess it just seems natural that he gets along with them. I'm honestly quite surprised he isn't terrified of it though. I wouldn't want to touch it."

"Well, I'm not going near that thing," Ron declared, glaring at Norbert who snorted. "It almost bit my hand off in first year!"

"Hagrid did say he was perfectly safe," Harry said. "But what is he doing here?" Hagrid, who had been walking towards them heard the question.

"I wanted ter have my classes study a dragon," the gamekeeper explained, settling himself down with a groan next to Hermione. "And the Ministry said as long as safety precautions were taken, it shouldn't be a problem."

"How was Norbert doing in Romania?" Harry queried.

"The very best," Hagrid boasted. "Charlie said he's the best fire-breather dey have ever 'ad! An' he tells me dat Norbert's got a girlfriend up in the herd. My little baby 'as grown up so much."

The small group continued to talk about Norbert and fill in their charts, no one watching the tiny Slytherin. "I'm sorry," Draco whispered to the dragon, patting the large neck. "I wouldn't want to be chained up either." Norbert snorted his agreement.

Taking a glance around him, Draco realized no one was looking at them. Using the dragon's ridges as a ladder, Draco shimmied his way up the neck until he was sitting on top of Norbert's head.

Latching his legs carefully around the horns, the child lowered himself down and began to fumble with the lock, his fingers easily going inside of it. A second later, a soft click sounded and it fell to the ground, accompanied with the loud banging of the muzzle.

Norbert let out a screech, tossing its head back and students screamed. With a toss of his head, Norbert tossed Draco in the air and then caught him neatly inside his mouth, a smirk on the dragon's face.

"HE JUST ATE DRACO!" Hermione screamed, jumping to her feet and running towards the dragon, who now free of his restraints had just taken into the sky. "HE'S GETTING AWAY!"

Hagrid chuckled nervously. "That wasn't supposed ter happen."

"WHAT DO WE DO? OH GOD! HE ATE DRACO! ATE HIM!"

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF," Harry yelled, grabbing Hermione by her arm and stopping her. "YOU HAVE TO CALM DOWN!"

"HE ATE DRACO! YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?"

"YES!" Hermione shut up and Harry took a calming breath. "Look, panicking isn't going to help Draco...having a level head will."

"HE LANDED ON THE ROOF!" shouted Ron, pointing up at the highest tower of Hogwarts. "HURRY! GET THE BROOMS!" By now most of the school in the front half of the building had heard the commotion and were rushing outside to see the problem.

"What is going on here?" Snape ordered, having been on a break and walking around outside when he'd heard the screaming.

"HE ATE DRACO!" came Hermione's frenzied sobs as several of the quidditch players mounted brooms to go up and 'battle' the dragon, praying the child hadn't been killed yet.

Snape's eyes hardened and he snatched Harry's prized Firebolt from his hands and mounted, Harry saying nothing, just watching in shock as Snape kicked off the ground and sped like lightning at the dragon.

"I never knew Snape could fly," Harry said, watching in amazement as the potions professor darted nimbly around the beast, wand firing little spells at its head and belly, the only sensitive areas not protected by scales. "He's incredible."

Seconds later, Norbert fell over and the castle shuddered at the impact while Snape hurriedly landed next to it. Several other teachers emerged from a door on the rooftop and knelt next to the stunned dragon.

From inside of the dragon, if you listened closely, you could hear banging. "He's alive," McGonagall breathed, sagging in relief. "Doesn't even sound like he went to far in...let's open its mouth and take a look."

Flitwick charmed the dragon's mouth to rise and McGonagall and Snape peered in to see a small boy clinging to one of the sharper teeth right before he feel down the throat and into the stomach.

"Uncle Sev!" he cried happily, a large smile on his face. "That was so much fun! I could feel us going up!" McGonagall laughed and Snape glared at his godson, who merely smiled back. "What happens if I let go?" he asked, his grip starting to slip.

"Then the stupid dragon would have officially eaten you," Snape scowled. "Swing your legs this way and jump." Draco did so and landed on the dragon's tongue. "Now crawl out." He did so and was pulled immediately into a tight hug by his godfather. "Don't you ever worry me like that again," he murmured into the silky blond hair, now covered with saliva, not that Snape noticed.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Sev," Draco apologized, hugging the man around his neck. "But I didn't want Norbert to be tied up...he was sad."

"And I would rather that dragon be sad then you its lunch."

"Did you kill him?" Draco panicked, looking at the still form of the Ridgeback.

"No, sweetheart," McGonagall assured, "just stunned him. Although I am surprised Severus...stunning a dragon by yourself? My my..."

"It probably did help that Norbert lost his claws and couldn't blow fire," Flitwick announced. "I remember reading that the Ministry forced the dragon to drink some potion that halted its fire-breathing...and with that in effect, it probably dulled its senses a bit too."

"Do you think we should let the students know that he's alive?" asked Pomfrey, staring down at almost the entire school, now gathered at the base of the castle.

"Probably," McGonagall agreed. "Any ideas how to get him away from Severus?" It appeared that the Potions teacher wasn't quite ready to let his godson free of his arms for a long time, and the child seemed quite content to stay wrapped up in the hug.

"Nope...but we can just do this. Sonorus." The nurse walked to the edge of the and looked down at the students. "DRACO MALFOY IS PERFECTLY ALL RIGHT! PLEASE CONTINUE ON TO YOUR NEXT CLASS UNLESS YOU HAPPEN TO BE HIS GUARDIANS! PLEASE MEET US AT THE HOSPITAL WING."

"See Mione? Draco's fine," Harry said, giving his friend a hug. Hermione gave a weak nod then went limp in Harry's arms. "Mione? Mione?" The girl had fainted.

The trio got the rest of the day off; seeing as Hermione had gone through 'emotional trauma' and Draco needed time to recuperate. Harry was actually quite certain it was Snape and Hermione needing the time though...Draco seemed perfectly fine to him.

"Are you ready to go down to dinner, Hermione?" Draco asked, sitting on the foot of the girl's bed, now dressed in a clean set of clothes and slightly damp hair from his bath.

"I guess so," she murmured, sitting up. "Where'd Snape go?" The Potions teacher had refused to leave the child's side for the entire day, and Harry had had to smile at that. Showed Snape at least cared a lot about someone.

"Professor Dumbledore made him go to dinner," the child said. "We're supposed to go too once you woke up."

"Then let's go." Hermione exited her room, Draco trailing behind her like a dog and into the common room where Harry was waiting. He smiled at her and then got up and joined the group, picking Draco up and setting the child on his shoulders.

When they entered the Great Hall, people smiled and waved at Draco; happy the boy was all right. After the group had settled down at the Gryffindor table and had started on their dinner, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.

"Attention students," he called, the room hushing. "I'm quite certain you've all heard about today's incident with the dragon...as it stands, Norbert will be going back to Romania tomorrow-" here a loud sob was heard from Hagrid- "where he will stay and live out his days. For those of you who don't know what happened, young Mr. Malfoy was eaten by Norbert earlier today, but is perfectly all right...we unfortunately can't say the same for his guardian." All heads turned to Hermione, who was clutching Draco to her and refusing to let go.

"And we now conclude the day...please remember that we have a Hogsmeade trip in two days for third years and over. Please do come if you can, it will be most enjoyable." The headmaster sat back down and talk restarted.

"I can't wait!" Draco laughed, clapping his hands together. "I can go, can't I?"

"Of course," Harry promised, ruffling the boy's hair. But inside his head Harry was thinking a different thought. '_We should be fine...Draco can't cause too much trouble, right?"_ At that second a little girl approached the table, eyes shining mischievously. '_Draco can't,' _Harry concluded, '_but Pansy can."_

**Author's Notes:**

Phew! I thought I might not be able to get it up in time! I've been so tired lately I just haven't had the energy to type. And once more, I've done it on a Sunday XD Quite obsessed with KFC now on Neopets...I want that avi! For those who don't know what I'm talking about, ignore me.

I'm estimating between 5-7 chapters left of little Draco, then a break with all three of them as their normal aged selves, and then we're diving into Harry! And please let me know if I did oki on Hagrid's voice...I tried very hard XD

Thanks so much for everyone's continued support of this fic! I'd luv to hear more feedback from you!

And a new note...this stupid editing system just deleted all of the comments I wrote you all ::Growls at computer:: so sorry, they won't be here this week. And I probably won't carry them over but I will give you a thanks and answer any major questions. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and let's hope my stupid computer doesn't delete all the comments next week! Till then!


	10. Watch out Hogsmeade!

**Disclaimer: I regret to say I don't own Harry Potter but I do own all the new candies I've created!**

**Parenting Class**

**Watch out Hogsmeade!**

"Draco," Hermione called, knocking on the closed bedroom door. "Are you ready to go?" No response came from inside and Hermione grinned. "You did deserve it Draco…don't be mad…you chose to do it."

Still silence.

"I take it you don't want to go to Hogsmeade then?" The doorknob turned to reveal the tiny child, his silver eyes downcast. He was still dressed in his pajamas from two days before, not seeing the need to get changed.

"Why the glum face, Draco?" Harry asked, exiting his own room, clothed in his gold and red scarf with snug, black robes to keep out the cold that had come early this year.

"You should know," the boy replied sullenly.

"What we did was for your own good," reprimanded Hermione, picking Draco up and carrying the child back into his room. "If we allowed you to get away with everything I don't know what kind of person you'd grow up to be."

Setting him down on his unmade bed, Hermione opened his trunk and came out with the usual pair of black clothes. "Get dressed and then go brush your teeth," the girl ordered, placing the articles next to Draco.

As soon as the Gryffindor left the room Draco got dressed and began to tidy up, though grumbling beneath his breath. As soon as they'd arrived back in their room after dinner two days ago, Hermione had told him his punishment for pulling off that rather mean trick with Pansy at the Head Table.

He was to stay in his room for the rest of the evening with no books or activities. The next day, he would attend classes with them, but he would have to sit quietly next to them and no talking to his other five year old classmates. As soon as classes were done for the day he was to go straight back to his room and stay there the rest of the evening except for the occasional bathroom break. Harry had brought Draco dinner, but no dessert. He was allowed out the following morning for the Hogsmeade trip, which was now.

For the entire day of yesterday Draco had amused himself by humming little tunes or being nearly bored to tears, sometimes sitting at the door as if waiting for someone to allow him out and back to freedom.

Exiting his room, for the first time without an escort, Draco went into the bathroom and squirted mint flavored toothpaste on his toothbrush and began the daily process of cleaning his teeth.

Several minutes later, the child donned his cloak and went over to Harry and Hermione, both of who were waiting by the portrait. "Did you learn anything from this, Draco?" Hermione asked as the trio exited.

"Yes," he muttered. "Don't pull pranks on the teachers again."

"There you are, Draco!" exclaimed a rather high-pitched voice from further down the hall. "I missed you sooooooooooooo much!" The Slytherin girl launched herself at Draco, effectively tackling him for the third time.

The two Gryffindors exchanged glances as Blaise and Neville rounded the corner, both looking panicked. "Have you seen-" Hermione pointed at the children - "thanks," panted Blaise, leaning over and trying regain his breath.

"I thought you were grounding Pansy too," Harry remarked, watching in amusement as Pansy continued to squish his own charge, and then tickle the blond.

"We did. It didn't appear to work," groaned Neville. "We didn't stop her in classes like you and Mione did, but she didn't get to eat at dinner either and she was put to bed at six…and no dessert. But she still won't listen."

"She's just used to getting what she wants," pointed out Hermione, "and being grounded once isn't really going to change her. Draco, on the other hand, seems to have learned his lesson."

"He's still associating with Pansy," Harry grinned, "doesn't look like he turned all good." Hermione whacked Harry upside the head. "I was just kidding…but seriously, she rubs off on him a lot."

"When we first got him," Hermione sighed, a thoughtful look coming over her face, "he was the sweetest, nicest little boy. But now…he's got a troublemaking streak in him."

"Ummm…shouldn't we be heading to the carriages?" asked Neville. "They're supposed to leave about now." Hermione shrieked in surprise, dashed forward and pulled Draco out from beneath Pansy and then tore down the hall, the rest (Pansy being carried by Blaise) in hot pursuit.

"Hurry up!" called Ginny from one of the carriages that was just beginning to move. Hermione dove inside and Harry followed, the door slamming shut behind them. "What took you so long?"

Ron was sitting next to his sister, a fearful expression on his face as he kept both eyes focused on Terry, sitting on Lavender's lap. "We ran into Pansy," Harry said, that enough for explanation. He took a seat next to Ginny, immediately draping an arm about her shoulders, and Hermione sat herself and Draco next to Lavender.

"Hi," Terry greeted, smiling with his teeth bared at Draco. "I'm Terry."

"Draco," Draco introduced himself, holding out his hand. Terry reached out to grab it and then suddenly lunged off of Lavender's lap and bit the Slytherin.

"You don't taste that good," he said, spitting out the bits of black fuzz he'd gotten stuck in his teeth from the gloves Draco (thankfully) had on.

"Terry! You don't bite people!" scolded Lavender.

Draco growled beneath his breath and then jumped off of Hermione's lap and tackled the other child, Terry crying out in alarm. Draco snapped his teeth angrily and bit Terry's hand, before both began to roll across the floor, fighting to stay on top.

"NO FIGHTING!" yelled Hermione, grabbing Draco and Lavender snatching Terry. Draco glared at the boy in the other girl's lap, a bruise already forming on his pale skin and a black eye already visible on Terry.

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered, tears gathering in his eyes.

"It's all right," Hermione assured, giving him a gentle hug. "Look up at me…I want to see your cheek." Draco did so and Hermione conjured an icepack and placed it in his hand. "Hold that on the bruise until the swelling goes down, okay?" Draco nodded. "And how's your hand?"

"It's all right," the child murmured. Hermione pulled the glove off anyway, relieved to see no marring on his flesh, the heavy glove having protected him completely from Terry's bite.

Lavender had also made an icepack and had Terry holding it over his eye, but unlike Hermione she was lecturing the boy. "…and you can't just bite people for no reason. It's very mean and it hurts. Maybe you shouldn't even go to Hogsmeade."

"But Lavender," Terry pouted, "you told me I could."

"That was before you bit Draco."

"He punched me," the Ravenclaw whined.

"And you punched him back. But you started it Terry, so therefore it's you who should be punished."

"But I wanna go to!" Terry wailed. "You have to let me go!"

"I don't have to let you do anything," Lavender said firmly.

"Pleeeeaasseee?" he begged, "I'll be good. I promise."

"One chance. Just one. If you do anything bad we're going straight back to the castle." Terry nodded happily and remained quiet for the rest of the trip to the little wizarding town.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Draco raced out, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the little monster. Hermione caught up with Draco and Ginny and Harry followed, strolling down the middle of the main street.

"What would you like to do first?" Hermione asked the group, walking backwards.

"Dunno," answered Ginny.

"Candy?" Draco suggested, a twinkle in his eye. The three teenagers exchanged glances and laughed.

"Sure, let's go get some candy," Ginny giggled. "But we never ate breakfast…shouldn't we do that first?"

"Point taken," Hermione smiled. "After all, we don't want Draco to ruin his appetite before he eats something healthy." Draco stuck his tongue out at Ginny, who stuck out hers back at him.

"I know a good little breakfast restaurant down a little ways," said Ginny. "Why don't we go there first?"

"Sounds like a plan," Harry grinned, his stomach grumbling loudly. The redhead laughed and poked the boy's stomach before looping arms with him and setting off down the street, Hermione and Draco following.

"But you promise we'll go to the candy store?" Draco asked, having to double his stride to keep up with Hermione's long legs.

"We'll go to Honeydukes later," Hermione promised. "After all, I do want to get a few more of those Rainbow Lollipops."

"What's so special about those?"

"After you've finished eating it, when ever you smile your teeth will flash different colors. I personally find them rather funny."

"My favorite is the Fizzing Whizbees," the child declared.

"Then I'll make sure to get some of those for you. But we're also going clothes shopping, understand? And I don't want any complaints," Hermione said sternly, noticing the frown on Draco's face.

"But Hermione-"

"No buts. We'll do some things you want to do and some things I want…and that includes buying you clothes." Draco opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it, realizing he had to listen. "Now let's go catch up to Ginny and Harry."

The four arrived in front of the small, cozy looking diner a few minutes later. Already, though it was only September, holly garlands hung from high rafters, and bright red bows under the windowsills.

With a smile, Ginny pushed open the door and they entered a warm room, a large fireplace against the wall washing heat over them. Tables sat around the room with many Hogwarts groups occupying them, and a large door in the back continued to swing open and shut as kitchen staff brought out food.

"Can I get you sweethearts a seat?" asked a tall, blond haired woman, her lips curving up in a smile at Draco, who gave a shy one back.

"Yes, for four please," Ginny grinned. "By chance are you still serving your French Toast with strawberry sauce?" she asked as the waitress led them to an empty table.

"But of course…Someone will be by to take your orders shortly. Have a nice meal!" Placing five menus on the table, the woman went back to the front to take in more customers.

"I'm so glad," Ginny sighed happily. "Whenever I came here, Mum would always order those for me."

"I think the puffed pancake with maple syrup sounds good," Hermione mused, flipping through her menu, mouth watering at all the dishes. "What do you like, Draco?"

"The chocolate chip waffles with ice cream," Draco said promptly, eyes shining. "Can I get that? Please Hermione?"

"I guess you could afford to be spoiled once…but for dinner tonight you get fruit and something healthy." Draco nodded, agreeing with the decision made. "And what do you want, Harry?"

"I think I'm going to get the cheese and ham omelet," the boy said, looking up from the menu. "Should we get a side order of fruit too?"

"That'd be nice," Ginny said. "Today, it says they're serving cantaloupe and honeydew. Yum!"

"They're also serving up trouble," Harry muttered. "Don't anyone turn around…I don't want her to see us…"

"Pansy! Over here!" Draco cried, waving his arms and standing up on his chair. The girl began to pull both of her guardians over to the table, a huge grin on her face.

"Or Draco can go and ruin it," snickered Ginny. "Poor, poor Harry," she said, patting him on the head. "She can't be that bad."

"Just watch," Harry groaned.

"Can we get three more chairs over here?" Hermione asked a passing waitress. With a nod and a flick of her wand, the table got larger and three more chairs were added. "Thank you!"

"I didn't know I'd find you here, Draco!" bubbled Pansy, clambering into a chair next to the child and squeezing him.

"Bet you didn't," Harry grumbled, fortunately Pansy not hearing him.

"Oooh, is this what you're getting? That looks yummy! Do you want to share one? I don't think I could finish it all by myself."

"Sure," Draco said agreeably. "That is okay, right Hermione?"

"That's fine," Hermione assured. For the next several minutes, the children looked over the dessert menu while the five teenagers talked about whatever they talked about.

"Hi there, everyone. I'm Barb and I'll be your waitress for today. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"These two," Hermione said, pointing at the children, "will have milk and I'll take a cup of orange juice."

"Apple for me please," Ginny smiled.

"Orange," Harry answered.

"Grapefruit," Neville smiled.

"Broccoli," Blaise said. Everyone looked at the Slytherin strangely. "It's good," he defended. "You boil broccoli and then squeeze the juices out of it, mix with water and add a little salt." Ginny was beginning to turn the color of Blaise's desired drink and quickly dashed out of her chair for the bathroom.

"All right then…" said Barb, jotting down the order. "I'll be back in a few seconds."

"Do you really drink that?" Hermione asked faintly. "I mean…I can see tomato juice or even spinach…but broccoli?"

"It's what gave me my dashing good looks," the dark haired boy joked, throwing a charming smile at Hermione. "I grew up on it instead of fruit juices…my mother is allergic to all citrus fruits and she hates apples."

"I'm sorry," said Hermione, "I would never have made it through my childhood without my daily orange juice."

"I'll make a note of that," chuckled Harry, writing it down on a napkin and then stuffing it in his pocket. "Never know when I might need to know that."

"Here you go," said Barb, coming back with a tray of drinks. "Have you decided what to order yet?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "The kids will be sharing your chocolate chip waffles with ice cream and I'll have your puffed pancake. And since Ginny isn't here, she'll take French toast with strawberry sauce."

"I'd like the ham and cheese omelet, with the side dish of buttered toast," said Harry, handing his menu to Barb as she collected.

"I'll take the same thing," said Neville, nodding at Harry.

"And I'll have just normal pancakes with a blueberry muffin," Blaise said.

"Could we also get the fruit platter appetizer?" asked Hermione.

"Your meal will be on it's way shortly," Barb said, putting her order form back in her pocket.

Not even ten minutes later, she reappeared with trays floating behind her, laden with the meal choices. Ginny by now had made an exit from the bathroom, but had propped up her purse in front of Blaise's vile looking drink.

"Let's see," Barb said, surveying the students. "I believe the chocolate waffles belonged to these two angels…." Draco and Pansy both thanked the woman sweetly and dug into their meal. "And the French toast for you…" A plate came sliding across the table to land in front of Ginny. "And an omelet here and there…" The egg dishes came to a stop in front of Harry and Neville. "And pancakes for you…and then the puffed pancake for you. And here's your fruit…enjoy your meal!"

"It looks delicious…and tastes even better," Ginny mumbled, mouth full of her meal. "Try some, Mione!" The girl held up a fork, speared with a piece of toast.

"Let me eat mine first, Gin," Hermione laughed. "I haven't had one of these in a long time." The girl picked up her knife to cut the pancake when all of a sudden it started to swell…growing larger and larger by the second.

"It's going to explode!" shouted Neville, diving beneath the table and dragging Pansy down with him. Hermione threw her chair back, but was unable to avoid the blast. Pancake splattered all over her, gooey yellow globs bright against her black robes.

"I think it worked," remarked a voice from a table over.

"I do agree. Swelled to a remarkable size!!"

"Cut that out! You're starting to sound like Percy!"

"So sorry dear twin of mine."

"Fred? George? What are you doing here?" queried Ginny, walking over to her brother's table.

"Testing out some new products," George grinned. "We knew it was Hogsmeade weekend, so we came down to see what kind of new things the students at Hogwarts needed."

"And what," Hermione asked testily, "was that one supposed to be?" The Gryffindor girl was a sight to be seen…as a monster. The exploded pancake covered her from head to toe, oozing down her clothes and clinging to her hair. Bits of cantaloupe and honeydew stuck to the batter, and orange juice soaked the left sleeve of her robes.

"An exploding pastry," Fred explained. "Each is filled with a fruit filling…but as soon as someone goes near it with a knife or fork, it explodes. And we didn't want you to see it, so we snuck it into your dish while the cook was making it.

"I don't think what you did was very nice," Draco frowned, glaring at the twins. "You could have hurt Hermione!"

"Who's the kid?" asked Fred, while George performed a cleaning charm on Hermione and the table.

"That's Draco," said Harry. "And this is Pansy."

"Pleased to meet you," the girl curtsied, before approaching both and giving them a solid kick in the shins. "And I agree with Draco! That was mean!"

"Draco…as in Draco _Malfoy?_"

"Come here for a second," said Harry, taking Fred by his bright blue robes and dragging him across the restaurant, George following. "Have either of you heard about the current project going on at school?"

"Nope, can't say we have," the two said in unison.

"Dumbledore put all sixth years in groups of three. My group is Mione, Draco, and myself. One of us had to take a potion and then got turned into a five year old child with no memories of his or her future life except what they'd experienced up to as a child."

"So you're telling us Malfoy doesn't know any of us? Or remember anything he's done?" Harry shook his head. "This is going to be fun!" George cried gleefully, a devious smirk on his face, an identical one on Fred's.

"You aren't going to do anything to him," Harry said firmly, grabbing both twin's by the back of their robes. "He's taken a great liking to all of us and you are not going to break that trust."

"But this could be blackmail for life!" crowed Fred.

"Dumbledore told us that once they return to their original age, they'll remember everything. We're both hoping that he'll change for the better."

"So we can't blackmail him?" George pouted.

"Nope," Harry said cheerfully. "Now why don't we go back, you two apologize to Hermione and introduce yourselves to Pansy and Draco? Pansy has also taken a shine to Hermione so if you do anything 'mean' to Mione, even if it's just a prank, that girl will hurt you. Believe me."

The trio made their way back to the breakfast table, where everyone was eating, Ginny sharing her meal with Hermione. "We're sorry Hermione," the twins said together, a twinkle of mischief still in their eye. "We won't do it again."

"Good," she smiled. "Pansy, apologize for kicking them." The black haired girl muttered an apology, still glaring at them. "Fred, George, this is Draco," Hermione said, pushing the child forward to meet her friends. "He's quite shy so-"

"I'm not shy," Draco interrupted, hands on his hips. "Just a little quiet…that's all."

"And lucky for him, I'm very loud," smirked Pansy. "You two look too old to go to Hogwarts…why are you here?"

"We run a joke shop down in Diagon Alley and-"

"Jokes? You mean like pranks?"

"What kind?"

"How much?"

"Do you have more of those exploding pastries?"

Fred and George looked as though they'd found the perfect little brother and sister. "You mean you two like playing jokes?"

"Love to!" grinned Pansy.

"Don't go and give them any ideas," Hermione warned, pulling Draco into her arms and covering his ears. "They just got grounded yesterday for lighting fireworks at the Head Table."

George and Fred beamed at the tiny Slytherins. "Is everyone done with breakfast?" asked Ginny, stacking her plate on top of Harry's. "Because the candy is calling me…"

"Me too!" exclaimed Pansy, jumping off of her chair. "Let's go!" Before anyone else could even protest, the girl had pulled Blaise and Neville out of their chairs and was proceeding to drag her guardians towards the door.

Blaise reached into his pocket and threw several sickles on the table before it left his range completely, and Hermione placed her group's bill, Harry and Ginny already having given her money for their meals.

Fred and George chipped in some knuts and a sickle for a tip and they all left, rather full but still with room for candy. A little bell tinkled as they pushed open the door to Honeydukes.

Draco and Pansy let out little cries and dashed over to the nearest bin of Gummy Worms, that you could feel wiggling around in your stomach long after you'd eaten them.

Harry crossed over to the Chocolate Frogs and began to pull boxes of them off the shelves, followed by ropes of Spider Strings, a stringy candy with the taste of wild cherries.

Hermione eagerly grabbed several of her desired Rainbow Lollipops off of the shelves and then some more Peppermint Floss for her parents.

Ginny smiled and loaded a large bunch of Ants in Your Pants into a bag. She didn't eat them all…normally she'd sneak the ant shaped candies into Ron's soup and then he'd be freaking out all evening, hating the feeling of ants all over his legs.

Both twins stocked up an assortment of candy, consisting of everything from Blood Pops to Super Shocker Suckers, the candy so sour your tongue tingled for hours on end.

Neville bought Honeyduke's famous fudge and Blaise helped himself to the Gummy Worms.

Over an hour later, they all exited, pockets considerably lighter and holding bags of candy. Pansy and Draco were both contentedly chewing on Bubble Burst, a rather exciting gum that popped in your mouth at random seconds.

"Where to now, Mione?" asked Ginny, helping herself to some of Fred's jellybeans.

"I think it's time Draco got some new clothes," Hermione answered, watching as the boy's face turned down. "Don't you think so, Harry?"

"We were actually going to head over to the Quidditch display," Harry said sheepishly, pointing to himself, Blaise, Neville, and the Weasley twins.

"Can I go shopping with you? Please Hermione? Pretty please?" begged Pansy.

"Can I go to the Quidditch store?" pleaded Draco, clinging to Harry's robes.

"Yes to Pansy, no to Draco," Hermione said. "How about we meet you five at the Three Broomsticks in two hours?"

"Works for us," said Harry.

"Don't let her take me," wailed Draco, wrapping his feet and arms around Harry's legs. "I don't want to go clothes shopping!"

"Sorry, Draco," Harry apologized. "If that's what Hermione wants to do, then we have no say."

"I DON'T WANNA GO!" he screamed as Hermione plucked him off of Harry and placed the child on her hip. "HARRY PLEASE!" Harry and company waved sadly as the girls plus Draco started down the street.

"I feel like we did something wrong," said Neville.

"Me too," agreed Harry. "Poor kid…I wonder what they're going to do to him."

Meanwhile, the girls were having the time of their lives at one of the children's clothing stores. Pansy was trying on little dresses and outfits the girls handed her, emerging from the dressing stall every few seconds to show off her newest article.

Draco…he was a different story. Ginny was currently chasing her around the store to try and stuff him into the 'cutest little sweater' she found…Draco ducked beneath a store dummy, dived under a shelf, and came face to foot with Ginny. "Gotcha!" she cried happily, picking up the kicking child and carrying him back to Hermione.

"I think this one is too blue," decided Pansy, pulling off the jacket Hermione had given her. "Can I try on the pink one again, Hermione?"

"I got him!" cheered Ginny, setting the boy down in front of Hermione. "What do you think of the sweater?" The redhead had pulled the garment over the child's head on the way back.

"Looks cute," grinned Hermione. "The blue sets off his eyes…we'll keep that one! What do you think of this leather jacket I found?"

"That would look adorable!"

Draco began to slowly back away but stumbled into a clothes rack.

"Oh look!" squealed Ginny, as she captured Draco once more. "Leather pants and a black shirt for him to wear beneath it!"

"I thought you didn't want black," Draco said, hoping for the girl's to lose interest in the leather.

"Oh we don't…but this is different." Seconds later, Draco was dressed in the leather clothes, a scowl on his face. "They're so cute! He looks so cute! Add that to the pile, Ginny!"

For the remainder of two hours, Draco continued to be dressed like a doll, Hermione and Ginny adding every single clothing article to the 'buy pile', resulting in a rather large mound.

"I think that's enough," observed Hermione, throwing some of Pansy's selections on as well. "Let's go check out."

"One thing, Hermione," Ginny whispered to her friend. "Who's money are we using?"

"Some of Draco's and some of mine…and I'll buy Pansy's stuff. She didn't take too much and I'll just get some money back from Neville later."

"But isn't this kind of a waste? They're only going to be kids for a little while longer…"

"I'll make all the clothes grow with them. Can you see Draco in leather later?" Dreamy expressions came over both girls' faces before Ginny smirked.

"I'm feeling love in the air," she sang, twirling around in a circle.

"Cut that out," hissed the other Gryffindor, clapping a hand over Ginny's mouth.

"So you do like him?" Ginny asked.

"No! I'm just saying it would look good on him, that's all."

"Uh huh. Well, time to buy." Ginny flounced away, leaving Hermione staring after her with mouth open.

"I do not like him like that," she said vehemently to herself. "And I never will."

With her thoughts concluded, Hermione made her way up to the front desk and minutes later, the four left, laden with bags and bags. "I'm going to perform a shrink charm on these," Hermione panted. "Stand back."

Soon, they were moving considerably easier, with each bag now the size of a Knut. "Time to go get some Butterbeer and then we'll head back to the castle," announced Ginny, pushing open the door to the Three Broomsticks.

They found the boy's table relatively easily…it was the one strewn with Quidditch gear that they'd purchased and were now comparing. "Have a good shopping trip?" asked Harry, looking for bags.

"Very much so. We got Draco quite a few new things."

"A few?" the boy asked incredulously. "You and Ginny bought almost the entire store!"

Hermione laughed nervously and took a sip of Butterbeer that had just been delivered to the table.

"What does he need that many clothes for?" exclaimed Harry.

"They were all so cute on him," gushed Ginny, hugging the blond tightly. "We couldn't just not get one of them."

They left the pub a little while later, all feeling much happier with the Butterbeer still bubbling inside. "Time for us to leave you," said Fred, giving Ginny a hug, and George hugging her from behind so she was squished between the two. "Nice seeing you all again."

"And it was wonderful to meet the two of you," smiled George at Pansy and Draco. "See you all around!" In pops, the twins disappeared.

They group was all walking back to the carriages, Harry having shrunk his packages too, when a figure stepped into the middle of the road, blond hair glimmering in the bright sun, black robes fluttering on the wind.

"Now, now…what do we have here?"

**Author's Notes:**

I'd like to apologize the lateness of the update, but it actually wasn't my fault. As most of you probably realized, no one could login or leave reviews since Sunday...just the day I needed to get this up. XD So now, here it is and I hope you all enjoy it.

Thank you all for your comments on Hagrid. I got from he sounded perfect to he was a gangster, lol. Guess I'll have to work on him if Hagrid is ever to appear in this fic or any of my HP fics ever again, huh?

And as a new note, that I regret to say, I won't be doing RC's for _this_ story anymore. I love to talk to you all, get to know you better...but doing so normally takes me anywhere from 2 to 3 hours...and I really don't have that much time to spare anymore T.T

So instead, in your review you can ask any question you want answered. It can be about me, the story, any of my other fics, or just randomness. I'll select five and post and answer them depending on the most creative/unique or the most commonly asked. But I will post your names if you reviewed...so thanks to the last reviews go to:

Lisha Chan, Puzzlette, ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies, samhaincat, valentines-hater, person, dizzydragon, blackrosebunny451, Yokai Cesia and Chi, LiLbLueangeL1223, scarlet-knight13, Hawaiian-Rachael, RiRiana, Bronwen, charmedsisters, Gertyke, citcat299, Alenor, FlickFlick, LosOjosDeLaVida, ShadowOfMoonlight, ilovetom88, rockslutgothpunk, Kou Shun'u, memommy27, Kathe, Invisible Voice, Invisible Voice, raisa, !, Maya, Fan-Of-HP, jujyfruits7766, Saiyachick, Smileystar04, GirlWaterShaman, BIGHARRYFAN, chaotic-mind-sevi, paprika90, CircleOfStone, D/HR SHiPPER, CircleOfStone, YamiClara, sw33tdohtee, Aleskris, :), The Stump, jessebelle, Caitlin, soulsaint06, demongirl12000, Kiyoko, Talisa Ahn, Pernese-Kat, gtrlvr8877, coffeentoffee, Stormy Skies

Other notes to make...for one, someone from neomailed me on Neopets, and I regret to say that my inbox did a freak out and deleted your neomail...if you're reading this, could you send me another one? I'd luv to talk, I just need your username. ::sweatdrop::

Also, I'm going to answer some questions that are frequently being asked and I'm hoping everyone sees them.

**Do you really update every Sunday?  
**Yes, except for this week when the site was down.  
**Is this going to be D/Hr?  
**Yes, eventually.  
**How much longer is Draco going to be a child?  
**I'm estimating about 4-6 chapters now.  
**Are Hermione and Harry going to be kids too?  
**Of course!  
**Who's next?  
**Harry is next to be a child.  
**How long has Draco been a child?  
**As of this chapter, he's on his sixth day

I once more apologize for deleting Reviewer's Comments...and I just have a side note to two different people...hang on.

**Aleskris**I don't understand Spanish, but my sister attempted to translate and failed miserably. XD I did understand the first and last line though n.n Tell your sister, if this is even spelled right or said correctly, Muy gracias. Yo alegre les le. ::cowers:: I think I just shamed the language.

**Kou Shun'u**If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all -Thumper, from Bambai and also my mom to me XD

Once more, thank you all so much for your wonderful comments and encouragment to make me keep writing this fic. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. And remember, if you have a question, please ask. It just may be picked n.n


	11. Daddies and Dobby!

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I didn't own Harry Potter…let me go check again…nope, no gigantic news blowups, no post, and no media. Guess I still don't own it.**

**Parenting Class**

**Daddies and Dobby!**

**Noteh- Beginning of chappie is more of drama/angst then humor. Gomen! **

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy," Harry greeted, his hand clutching his wand tightly, jaw clenched. Draco's eyes had widened in fear and Hermione had pulled him into her arms, placing his hood over his head to hide the shocking blond hair, since it appeared Lucius hadn't seen him yet.

Ginny placed a hand over Pansy's mouth and drew the child behind her. Blaise and Neville, sensing something was wrong, held their wands as well. "And a pleasant day to you, Potter. I trust it is another Hogsmeade weekend and you and your friends aren't sneaking out as usual?"

"It is," the jet-black haired boy said evenly. "May I enquire as to what you're doing here?"

"That is none of your business, Potter. But if I could ask, have you seen my son anywhere? He hasn't written me all year and I am beginning to feel a bit worried." Harry detected a glimmer of malice in the man's silver eyes and felt a shudder pass through him.

"No, I haven't seen him all day."

The cold eyes raked over Harry to Hermione and then down to the child in her arms. He looked back up and noticed Harry standing protectively in front of the girl. "And who might the child be?"

"None of your business," Harry growled.

It was at that moment, the wind chose to pick up and the black hood blew off, revealing the Malfoy trademark silvery blond hair. Lucius' eyes widened. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, eyes burning into Hermione.

"P-professor Dumbledore is…he's…" the girl was at a loss of words, not certain how to explain their project without saying anything to confuse the children. Although since Lucius was obviously very mad, it appeared that he hadn't allowed Draco to visit Hogwarts like Hermione had told the child, and it puzzled him even more.

"I can't believe it," Lucius muttered. "My son, hanging out with Potter and a Mudblood. What has the world come to be?"

"Don't call her that!" protested Draco, turning his head out Hermione's robes and glaring at this father, though he still looked terribly frightened. "She has magic in her…just like everyone else here."

"What did you just say to me?" Lucius hissed, drawing his own wand out and aiming it at Draco.

Harry stepped in front of Draco and Hermione, emerald eyes glimmering angrily. "Don't you dare do anything you'll regret."

"Don't worry Potter," Lucius smirked. "I never regret anything." A stunning spell shot off the end of the man's wand, followed by a small explosion as another spell hit the ground and caused waves of dirt to billow up, blinding everyone.

Hermione felt Draco being torn from her arms, his cries soft against the loud swearing coming from Blaise as he tried to get out of the fog. "DRACO!" she screamed, yanking back on the child's robes. After that, all she saw was a red light speeding at her before everything went dark.

Lucius clamped a hand over his son's mouth and exited the pandemonium, before apparting away, Draco struggling in his arms. Seconds later, the two appeared farther inside the forest that bordered Hogsmeade.

The elder Malfoy's face was livid as he threw Draco to the floor, the child trembling in fear. "What do you think you are doing?" he snarled, staring down at the boy, who was curled up in a tight ball on the forest floor.

"Hermione said Professor Dumbledore worked everything out with you," Draco sniffled. "She said I wouldn't get in trouble."

"Well you are in trouble, you brat. What do you think you're doing with a Mudblood? They're not to be associated with in any way! Do you understand me? DO YOU?" he thundered, when Draco remained silent.

"Hermione's nice," Draco whispered. "And I like her…. More then you."

A second later, Draco had left his spot on the ground and was airborne, before flying into a tree trunk and crumpling after his momentum had stopped at the base of the pine. "She doesn't treat me like this," he sobbed, pressing his back against the trunk as Lucius stepped closer. "She cares about me!"

"And what makes you think I don't care?" Lucius hissed, silver eyes glittering before his hand lashed out and slapped the child across his face. "What makes you think I don't care about you?" he repeated, wrapping his left hand around Draco's neck and lifting him into the air.

Draco didn't answer, only sobbed harder, his hands pulling at Lucius's, trying to break free. In disgust, the man threw him to the ground, the child's head cracking against a half cut stump rising up.

"Is this the child I raised?" Lucius continued, kicking Draco so that the boy rolled several feet across the ground. "Someone so weak? So feeble minded? Is this truly my son?"

"I…don't want…to be…your son," Draco whimpered, sitting up and placing a hand to his head and then drawing it away, brilliant red blood clinging to it. "You've never cared about me…Hermione and Harry…both do. They love me!"

"What they're telling you is lies!" snarled Lucius, backhanding the child across the face once more, a large red print the sign of the abuse. "They don't care at all about you, Draco. Only I care."

"No you don't!" Draco cried, scrambling to his feet and backing away. "If you cared you wouldn't hurt me!"

"And if they cared, wouldn't they be here right now?" Draco stopped his retreat, silver eyes widening. "If they truly cared, then where are they?"

"We're right here," Harry announced, emerging from the trees behind Lucius, his wand drawn and pointed at the man, everyone else's aimed at him as well. Pansy was standing next to Hermione, helping the girl to stand up, as she still seemed rather shaky. "And if you dare touch him once more, you will be sorry."

"We can send you to the authorities for child abuse," Hermione hissed, honey eyes sparkling with rage.

"I'm so sorry, dear Mudblood," Lucius sneered. "In the wizarding world, this sort of thing is legal. So there's no point in reporting…nothing will come of it." In a quick pop, the man apparated away, the space he once occupied bare.

Harry sprinted across the clearing to Draco, who was sitting on the ground, one hand clutched to his head and the other sitting carefully in his lap. "Oh my god," Harry murmured, scooping the child into his arms and cradling him against his chest.

"You came," Draco whispered, looking up at Harry with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Of course we came…we love you Draco…I'm only sorry we didn't get her sooner. It was really hard to figure out where you'd gone, but Ginny got a location charm working and we tracked you."

By now, the rest of the group had gathered around, Hermione standing on her own. Reaching over, she plucked Draco from Harry and hugged him to her, tears dripping down her face.

"Let's head back to the castle," Neville suggested softly. "Cover Draco up so no one will see him…then you all have some explaining to do."

Harry shed his cloak and wrapped it around and over Draco, now sobbing softly in Hermione's embrace. In a solemn silence, they all made their way back to where the carriages were waiting, Pansy anxiously glancing at the shaking bundle in Hermione's arms, her eyes wide with fright and concern.

They boarded the transports quietly, each sitting silent with their own thoughts, all revolving around the Slytherin. As soon as the carriages disembarked, everyone followed Hermione to the jester's portrait.

"And how was the trip?" Leviculus asked cheerfully, juggling knives around his head.

"Parvulus," Harry said quietly. "We're really not in the mood to talk now, Leviculus…sorry," he apologized, seeing the jester's down trodden face. With a sigh, the portrait swung open and everyone entered, Ginny blinking several times, since she was the only one who had never yet experienced the stunning quality of the 'Rainbow Room' as Pansy had dubbed it.

Hermione sat down on one of the pumpkin colored couches and removed Harry's cloak off of Draco, her frown deepening as she saw the amount of blood clinging to his head. "It doesn't look like it's too deep…Harry, can you go get me a rag from the bathroom and water?" The boy nodded and entered the bathroom.

Neville seated himself in one of the armchairs and Blaise took the other. Ginny sat next to Hermione on the left and Pansy scrambled into the free lap. Harry came out a few seconds later and handed the cloth to his fellow parent, who began to dab at the shallow cut on Draco's head.

"All done," she comforted a few minutes later, giving the child a kiss on top of his head, away from the injury. "Does anything else hurt?"

Draco shook his head softly, though the bruises around his neck and the ones forming on his face denied that fact. Hermione gave him a gentle hug, surprised when he stiffened and tried to pull away.

With a sigh, Hermione stood up, Draco snug in her arms. "We'll be back in a few minutes she murmured, starting for Draco's bedroom.

The other students waited, shedding their extra robes and cloaks on the floor, seeing as the fire was providing an adequate amount of warmth already. "Is Draco going to be okay?" Pansy asked, tugging on Ginny's sleeve, her voice very loud in the silence.

"He will," Ginny assured, hugging the girl tightly. "Hermione will make him all better."

At that moment, Hermione and Draco emerged, the boy clothed in a pair of dark green pajamas Hermione had bought earlier that day for him, a bandage wrapped around his head and a fuzzy red blanket wrapped around him.

"How badly was he hurt?" asked Ginny, giving the child a sad smile.

"Not as bad as I thought," Hermione said softly. "He does have some bruising on his back and stomach, from god knows what, and some on his neck and face. And then the cut on his head, but it isn't really too deep."

"What is going on, Hermione?" demanded Neville.

"One thing before I answer that…Blaise, is what Lucius said true?"

"Is what true?" the Slytherin asked.

"That child abuse isn't illegal?"

"It's true," he sighed. "Look at it like this. Most people associate the Malfoy family with the Dark arts and you-know-who, right?" Hermione nodded. "Just last year, he was arrested at the ministry with a ton of other Death Eaters. But where is he now? Walking the streets with all the other wizards and witches."

"But he was convicted," the witch protested. "Why isn't he rotting away in Azkaban?"

"The Malfoy name represents money and power," Blaise explained. "He can just as easily buy himself out of a lifelong sentence then he can for abusing his kid. As far as the ministry knows, he could have murdered thousands of innocents as his time as a Death Eater yet he still goes free. Do you really think they'll arrest him for hurting his own child?"

"But it isn't fair! What did Draco do to deserve any of this?"

"Most pureblood families do keep a strict reign on their heirs. It can go anywhere from ignorance, to abuse, to death if they get too angry. Fortunately, if they do murder their child, they will be tried and sent away for a little while at least."

"All purebloods?" Harry whispered in astonishment.

"Not true," Ginny intervened. "I'm from a pureblood family and nothing like that goes on at my house. And you are too Neville, aren't you?"

"I am…and nothing like that ever happens."

"Difference is, you two were born into a different kind of pureblood family. Most purebloods do side with he-who-must-not-be-named, and therefore have some type of family problems. Every single Slytherin in this school is a pureblood, and I bet you most of them have the same kind of family problems Draco does."

"What about you?" asked Ginny, looking at the black haired Slytherin with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm only pretty much ignored at home," Blaise said. "Much better, I think, then being recognized and followed everywhere. You learn to just blend it after a while and then everything goes all right for me."

"What about you," Ginny asked, hugging Pansy on her lap. "Are your parents nice?"

"Not really," the girl murmured. "Father yells a lot but he's never hit me…only mother. And mother does love me…she tells me so every night when she tucks me in."

"Your dad hits your mom? Can't he be arrested for that?" demanded Hermione.

"No," said Blaise. "Marriage is an eternal bond in pureblood families. The wife basically pledges her life to her husband and has to listen to whatever he says. They have literally no freedom after they say their vows. So going to the ministry would most likely go against their husband's wishes meaning they can't do it."

"That's terrible," Hermione muttered, hugging Draco tighter.

"Hermione?" Draco said softly. "Can I go to bed? Please?"

Sensing the child wanted to be by himself she nodded and let him slide from her lap. "Do you want me to come with you, Draco?" asked Pansy. After a moment's hesitation, Draco nodded and Pansy scampered over to him, taking his hand and leading him into his bedroom, the door closing with a soft thud.

"I was right," Ginny declared, though a sad smile filled her face. "Lucius did abuse him."

"How did you know?" asked Harry.

"When he came to dinner that first night, he seemed frightened of you, Harry. And even later he still seemed scared. So that one night, after the trip to St. Mungo's, I told him you cared about him and would never hurt him. And then right before he tricked me the day after during breakfast, he told me I was right."

"So that's why he let me comfort him that night it stormed," mused Harry. "Because you told him I was nice…I think he did say something to me about that too."

"Should we tell Dumbledore?" asked Blaise. "I mean, normally a Slytherin wouldn't go to him at all, but should we at least let him know? I mean, maybe he could stay with Snape over the summer."

"We'll ask Draco about it when he turns back to sixteen," said Hermione firmly. "For all we know, Lucius may not do that sort of thing to him at his normal age and he's fine. I mean, he does always talk about his father."

"Good point…but it might just be cover-up. Guess we'll just have to wait a while, huh?"

"You know what I think would cheer him up?" suggested Harry. "What if we took him down to the kitchens to see Dobby? From what he's said, he appeared to like Dobby."

"Great idea, Harry!" squealed Hermione. "We can all go get some hot chocolate too…how about we all meet back here at eight tonight? We'll sneak down and then be back in bed before anyone even notices we're gone."

"Did I just hear you say 'sneak'?" grinned Blaise. "Who would have ever guessed? Smartest witch, Hermione Granger, goodie two shoes wants to 'sneak' out. I for one, am all for it. You wouldn't happen to be with anyone right now, would you?" he winked.

"She has her eye on someone already," Ginny smirked, earning her a hard elbow in the ribs. "Well, it's true. She just doesn't want anyone to know."

"I think I know who it is," chuckled Harry. "Might it be-"

Hermione clamped a hand over the Gryffindor's mouth. "It's no one," she growled playfully. "Let's leave it a secret, shall we?" Harry nodded and she released him.

"Well then, I'll go get Pansy and we'll be back at eight," said Neville, rising to his feet. Hermione went with her friend to Draco's room and peeped the door open.

"Why don't you just leave her here? Harry and I will watch her," Hermione smiled, looking at the children. They lay underneath the covers together, dried tear tracks on Draco's face and Pansy's arms wrapped around him in a hug, both fast asleep.

"You sure?"

"Positive. Having her around might make Draco feel better anyway."

"All right then." Both exited the doorway and Neville picked up his coat from the floor. "See you tonight then."

"I'll see you guys later," said Ginny, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek. "Although someone might want to explain to Dobby what's going on. Like maybe he can say Lucius let him come over to learn a new recipe or something."

"I'll go run down and let him know now," Harry said. "Be back in a few." Wrapping an arm around his girlfriend, they both exited the room, her head resting on his shoulder. Hermione stared after them before heaving a sigh.

Crossing the room, she entered her bedroom and changed into a fresh set of clothes, free of mud and brambles from the forest. Dragging her book bag over to her bed, she dumped out pieces or parchment and began to scribble furiously, eyes scanning the History of Magic text every few moments in front of her.

She was just about to begin her Potions essay, when she heard her door creak open. Looking up, she saw Pansy enter her bedroom, the girl shaking with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Something is wrong with Draco," she whispered. "He's crying and won't wake up."

Rolling off the bed, Hermione dashed into Draco's room and onto the bed next to the boy. "Wake up," she urged, pulling him into her lap and shaking him gently. "Come on, Draco. It's a nightmare, only a bad dream…only a dream."

With a gasp, Draco started in her arms and glanced wildly around, eyes wide with fright. "It's okay," Hermione comforted, stroking his hair. "You're safe." Slowly, his breathing began to return to normal, his body relaxing.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"What's there to be sorry for? It's all right for you to be scared…I still get scared all the time."

Pansy leaned over and hugged her friend. "Are you okay, Draco?" she whispered. He gave a small nod.

"Guess what?" said Hermione brightly, trying to lighten up the rather somber mood. "Later tonight we're all going to go down to the kitchens…and we have a surprise for you there, Draco. I'm sure you'll like it."

Pansy, glanced over her shoulder out Draco's door and at the orange couches. "Where did Blaise and Neville go?" she queried.

"They're going to meet us at eight…we didn't want to wake you up earlier so we let you sleep."

"Where's Harry?" asked Draco.

"On an errand," the girl said evasively. "He'll be back shortly with dinner probably. He must know we're all hungry."

"I'm back," called Harry from the portrait. "And I brought dinner."

"Told you," beamed Hermione. She'd had the feeling the house elves wouldn't let her friend just leave empty handed and her hunch had proved correct. Placing Draco on her hip and taking one of Pansy's hands, Hermione exited the bedroom and into the common room.

"Looks yummy," commented Pansy, sitting down at the pink table. She reached out her hand for a cream filled pastry only to have Hermione swat at it.

"Have some chicken first," the older girl ordered, setting a plate of grilled chicken and mashed potatoes before Pansy and another plate before Draco. "After that you can have a pastry."

"Then how come Harry gets one?" pouted Pansy.

Harry froze, a glob of chocolate crème falling from his mouth as he gave a sheepish grin at Hermione. "Harry James Potter! No sweets before dinner! You know that!"

"Thowy Wiwe," Harry chewed, swallowing the last of his dessert. "But it looked so good!"

"And you want the kids to have that attitude about food? Only eat what they think looks good?"

"No…"

"Then don't do it!"

"All right, I get it," Harry grumbled, raising his hands in front of him to ward Hermione off.

Her attention turned back to the children as she supervised their meal, making sure they didn't sneak any sweets. Harry, feeling much like a dog who'd been punished, sulked quietly in his armchair, throwing death glares at the sweets that had so tempted him.

After they finished the meal and dessert (Harry didn't get anymore, much to his displeasure), the group sat down on the braided rug in front of the roaring fire, allowing its warmth to play over their faces.

Hermione carefully examined the bruising on Draco's face and neck, adding a little ointment that reduced the swelling. "Could you drink this for me?" she asked Draco, holding out a small cup of a dark blue liquid. "It's a concealment potion," she said, noticing the raised eyebrow. "If we meet anyone in the halls I don't want them to see those marks."

Obediently, Draco took the cup and drank it, a grimace on his face. "That tasted awful," he moaned, taking the offered cup of water from Harry.

"You can't have expected it to taste like cherries," Hermione grinned. "But at least it did its work." Like magic, which it was, the bruises had melted away into the boy's pale skin, leaving it unblemished and pure.

The portrait swung open a second later to reveal Ginny, Neville, and Blaise. "How did you get in?" asked a bewildered Hermione.

"I remembered the password," said Ginny proudly. "Shall we be going?"

All three were dressed in pajamas; ready to pretend they were sleepwalking if anyone caught them. "I have a some pajamas for Pansy," said Neville. The little girl took the articles from the boy with a smile and retreated into the bathroom.

"Let me go get ready," said Hermione. Harry left to his own room as well and emerged seconds later, clothed in an overlarge tee shirt and a pair of red and gold plaid pants. Soon, the group found themselves walking down the halls, Ginny's wand the only light source. Draco was curled up in Hermione's arms and Pansy in Blaise's, both children wanting to be secure in the pressing darkness.

They arrived minutes later outside a portrait of a bowl of fruit, and Pansy and Draco glanced at each other. "Where does that lead to?" Pansy asked as Harry stepped up and ran his hands over a green pear.

With a shrill laugh, the fruit morphed into a door handle and Harry pulled it open. "To the kitchens," he said with a smile. "Everyone in."

Draco and Pansy's eyes, as well as Blaise and Neville, who had never been to the kitchens before, widened as they took in the busy scene. House elves dashed across the floor, some cooking at huge stoves, others washing dishes, and some sweeping and mopping.

Steam and smoke poured over one section of the kitchen from the ovens, and loud, high-pitched voices chattered in non-stop sentences. One house elf broke away from the main bustle and sprinted at the group.

"Master Draco! Dobby is so glad you came to visit!" cried the excited elf, squeezing Draco around the middle.

"Dobby?" the boy asked, looking the elf over. "Dobby!" he squealed, toppling them both over as he hugged the creature back.

"Master Draco….please…Dobby is…ticklish!" the elf laughed, trying to get out from beneath the child, who was currently running his hands over the creature's stomach, a grin on his face.

"Aww, aren't they cute," cooed Hermione, snapping a photo. "It really was a good idea to bring him down here," she said quietly to Harry. "Look how happy he is."

Pansy dashed in to join the tickle fight, the three's laughter ringing out above the kitchen sounds, a sound of happiness and delight. Making a roll across the floor, Dobby managed to escape the Slytherins before casting some of his own magic, effectively pinning them gently to the floor, the children still in peals of laughter.

"Would you like Dobby to get Harry Potter and his friends hot chocolate?" asked the elf, bowing before the group.

"That'd be great, Dobby," Harry smiled. "Do you have someplace we can sit too?" Nodding his green head enthusiastically, Dobby led the group over to a table in the back of the kitchen, a blue and white checkered tablecloth thrown over top with a vase of flowers in the middle.

"Dobby will go release Master Draco and Mistress Pansy and will then get you hot chocolate." Scampering off, the elf disappeared into the midst of its kind, two children, holding onto each other for support, still laughing, emerged seconds later and made their way to the table.

"What is Dobby doing here?" giggled Pansy. "I thought he was supposed to be at your house, Draco."

"He came here to learn how to make a pudding dish," Hermione said quickly. She was thankful that Dobby had shed his hats and socks, so that Draco wouldn't be suspicious when he saw his family elf with clothes.

"I hope he makes it makes it when I get back home," the boy smiled.

"I'm sure he will," Hermione smiled back. "Oh, look! Here come our drinks!"

Carefully, Dobby set down a tray with steaming cups. Each mug held a rich, dark liquid topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a little candy cane hooked on the side. "Thank you very much, Dobby," Hermione thanked, taking a sip. "It's delicious!"

"It was no problem, Hermione Granger," Dobby blushed, tracing a circle on the ground with his foot.

"Won't you join us?" asked Harry.

"Dobby…join Harry Potter and Master Draco?" the house elf whispered. "Dobby would love to!" he exclaimed, conjuring a stool and clambering up on it next to Draco.

"I'm glad to see you again, Dobby," Draco smiled, leaning over and giving the house elf a hug. "But won't Father be mad you're not at home?"

"No…Master Lucius knows Dobby is here," the house elf stated, earning a relived sigh from Harry, afraid the elf had forgotten what he'd told him to say.

For the next hour, the group chatted, Draco content though to just sit next to his long time friend and caregiver, drinking his hot chocolate and nibbling on the shortbread cookies another house elf had brought over.

"I think it's time we get going, Dobby," announced Harry, rising to his feet and stretching. "Pansy and Draco should be in bed."

"But we're not….tired," yawned Pansy, blinking sleepily. Neville smiled at his charge and scooped her into his arms, the girl falling asleep a second later.

"Good bye, Dobby," Draco said tearfully, giving the elf one last hug.

"Dobby will see Master Draco later," Dobby smiled, returning the hug. "Take care Harry Potter and friends." With good nights exchanged, the students took leave of each other, Ginny stealing off for Gryffindor Tower and Blaise's group for their little home, Harry's group theirs.

"That was a nice way to end the evening," yawned Harry as they entered the safety of their room. "About time for bed too."

All three trooped into the bathroom to brush their teeth and then all to Draco's room to tuck the child in, his eyelids already drooping. "Draco," said Hermione softly. "Harry and I want to give you something before you fall asleep."

The child looked at them with interest, blinking the sleep away from his eyes. Harry reached behind him and picked up a box from the floor and handed it to the boy. "Mione and I made it for you last night," he said with a grin. "We hope you like it."

Pulling the paper off in strips and piling the ribbon in a neat coil, Draco took the lid off the package, a gasp of surprise welling up in his throat. "I can really have this?" he whispered, tears pooling in his eyes.

"It's all yours," Hermione said softly. Draco reached into the box and cradled the item to him. It was a soft, plush green dragon that the Gryffindors had sewed and stitched without magic the day before. Felt black eyes and silver glitter over the emerald scales completed the magnificence of the animal, the wings shining and flexible.

"Thank you so much," Draco murmured, hugging it before jumping up and wrapping his arms around both of his guardian's necks, their arms encircling him.

"You're welcome, Draco," Hermione whispered. "You're so very welcome."

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry it took me so long to get this up...but still, it is on Sunday n.n I've had such a busy day today...gone at church back at my old town, then to get my hair cut (which I think turned out pretty well) and then back to my house to do some last minute homework, clean up my room, help my dad with Christmas lights, and finish typing this!

I'd like to thank the following people who reviewed...this fic has reached over 500 reviews! My first fic ever to hit that many! To celebrate, sugar cookies for everyone:cough: Thanks to:

LishaChan, Yokai Cesia and Chi, blackrosebunny451, Kou Shun'u, LiLbLueangeL1223, samhaincat, BIGHARRYFAN, Gertyke, Sugary Peach Tea, UrS0D00rk3y, sw33tdohtee, Aleskris, Spicysuga, dark fairy fan, bleedingheart666, RiRiana, HaliJade Snape, Pia O'Leary, trapped-in-a-dream, Smileystar04, choatic-mind-sevi, unknown, Hawaiian-Rachael, Mrs. Blaise Zabini, D/HR SHiPPER, Alenor, Laen, charmedsisters, Magma Rose, Meg, daddygirl, raisa, wockygal, YamiClara, khamsin, BlueBabyAquaGirl, Stormy Skies, jujyfruits7766, shatt3redx, MokubaDoll, savvyfairy, Pernese-Kat, Ptrst, coffeentoffee

I just noticed, that for some reason some of the reviews are showing up in my inbox and that my review history has been disabled...odd, huh? So I hope I didn't miss anyone in the thanks list.

And now, on to the questions left by the readers. Remember to submit yours in your review!

**Will Ginny be accidentally somehow be de-aged at the same time as Harry?** S_ubmitted by samhaincat  
_Nope, sorry. T.T As much as I'd like her to be chibi with him, I really don't know how she'd get her hands on a potion when only the sixth years should be in the rooms when they get them. But that would have been fun! lol

**If Draco remembers this, how mad will he be at hermione and harry?** _Submitted by wockygal  
_He will remember and I don't think he'll be very mad. I'm thinking more along the lines of very embarassed and want to stay away from them for a while. I know I'd be embarassed if I was turned chibi and handed over to my friends for a few days...I'd be mortified when I got older again...my parents told me I was a handful of trouble and I really don't want to know what kind of evil little things I did.

**Out of all the HP characters, who do you feel you can most associate with, based on how you write them (not Rowling's style)?** _Submitted by coffeentoffee  
_I'd have to say I'd relate to Ginny the most in that case. We both have very hot tempers, as you've seen her in POW before. And then we both like to do the unexpected and surprise people, like when she kissed Harry in the middle of breakfast. We also feel sort of overshadowed by our siblings...I have an older sister and a younger brother (who is a little angel in my mom's opinion, a little devil in mine) and being in the middle kinda makes me feel neglected at times. We also both have pretty big hearts and care about people as well as being friendly. And we piece information together...in the game Clue, I always put together the parts just by listening to my family and watching. So yeah...I'd associate with Ginny.

**Where on earth did you get the idea for this story?** _Submitted by BlueBabyAquaGirl  
_Honestly...not a clue. I was sitting on my bed one day working on an art project for school and I was just like 'I should write a story where Draco is a little kid!' I think the reasoning was, I've always wanted to turn him chibi but in a realistic way and I didn't want to make him seem special. So by making everyone turn little I thought I got my wish! And I'm glad I did write it...we all need a bit of humor.

**Do you have any pets? and if yes, what is his/her name and what is it? **_Submitted by MokubaDoll  
_Yep, I have a dog! He's eleven years old and his name is Psi Chi. He is a german sheperd terrier mix...also with a bit of collie but we thought his breed type was already long enough. His name...is a very odd story. My parents named him after themselves. They met in a psychology class and fell in love there...so my dog's name is derived from psychology. XD It's pronounced Sigh Ki, I always get people saying it like PeSi ChuchHi lol

Thanx once more to everyone for reviewing! Please do leave your comments in your review if you're in the mood, and possibly a question. Those were fun to answer! Till next Sunday! Ja na! (means see you then!)


	12. Life Hurts

**Disclaimer: I've been pondering this…I don't control your reactions to this fic, but yet I control the character's. But in a sense, doesn't Rowling control the characters since she created them? Kami, my brain hurts…**

**Parenting Class**

**Life Hurts**

It had now been several days since the Hogmeade trip, eleven to be exact. And quite a lot had happened over those days…

For starters, Sparkles had been christened and given a new home. It had been a huge ceremony, equipped fully with holy water ('blessed' by Hermione), a little white shirt for Sparkles, and a Baptismal candle.

Draco had posed as the parent to his new charge, and Harry as the priest, Hermione as the audience. As the girl and proud parent watched, Sparkles was dumped and soaked in the water, before emerging and having a drying charm performed.

He was then handed back to his new owner, who promised to love and cherish this newborn. In case you're wondering…this child is none other then the stuffed dragon Hermione and Harry gave Draco.

After being accepted warmly into the family, Sparkles and Draco were inseparable. Each and every class the dragon would be sitting in the child's lap, safe in Hermione's book bag during Care of Magical Creatures, and beside him during meals.

Of course, many other things happened to the child in his stay with his adopted guardians. He managed to pull several pranks on them after getting a hold of Harry's wand, with Pansy's help of course.

These little jokes of his included everything from putting a Ton Tongue Toffee in Hermione's eggs at breakfast to hanging Harry's clothes like pennants on top of the North Tower, with the help of Harry's Firebolt.

Both Gryffindors, mainly Harry, had been impressed that the child had been able to control the fastest broom ever created. So of course, the Quidditch loving boy had taken his charge out on several long rides over the lake and around Hogwarts' grounds.

But then, we must remember that this is Draco, slightly accident prone though he doesn't mean to be. And with broomsticks, fast speeds, and high winds, come accidents… so that's how Hermione found herself camped out at the Hospital Wing two nights straight as Draco and Harry were both treated for pneumonia after falling in the ice cold lake.

Madam Pomfrey had said that both were lucky…it was only September and the lake wasn't as cold as it was in the winter months, though it was still rather chilly for fall.

And of course, Terry provided quite a bit of amusement…Draco and the Ravenclaw had gotten off on rather bad terms. Now, they had to be separated lest Terry try to attack Draco and Draco fight back.

One time, Ron had to physically get in-between the snarling kids and had ended up with tooth marks from Terry all up his left arm as he tried to get at Draco, after the child had 'accidentally' pushed a glass of pumpkin juice into Terry's lap.

Draco had also had his first Herbology Class, and truth tell, was terrified of it. For the entire lesson he had clung to Sparkles and Hermione, convinced all the plants were going to try to eat him.

Hermione was still puzzling over the fact that Draco didn't mind getting eaten by a dragon, yet the thought of a rather harmless plant (such as the Feathery Florescent Flower) sent him hiding beneath the table.

Currently, Hermione was curled up in an armchair, immersed in Hogwarts, a History, while Harry lounged on the sofa, watching Draco run around the room after Crookshanks, who had his beloved stuffed dragon in his mouth.

"BLOODY CAT!" Draco yelled, "GET YOUR FUZZY, ORANGE ARSE BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"Draco!" scolded Hermione, glancing up from the thick text. "Where on earth did you here those words? Those are bad!"

"From Ron," the child admitted, hanging his head and stopping his chase.

"Oooh," the girl fumed, slapping her book shut. "He is going to hear about this! Lavender was right! The children are picking up on his language!" Draco only smiled as Hermione stormed over to the portrait hole.

It swung open obediently and the girl stalked out, only for a loud thump to sound a second later. "Miss Granger! Please look where you're going!" huffed the Transfiguration professor.

"I'm sorry," came the muffled reply of the Gryffindor, who was beneath the woman.

With a groan, McGonagall rose to her feet and offered Hermione a hand up. "Were you leaving? I would like you to hear something first."

'_Maiming Ron can wait,' _Hermione concluded. "Sure, come on in," she invited, walking back into the room, Leviculus watching the whole exchange with a goofy grin. Both entered and McGonagall seated herself in a second armchair, watching the blond child with amusement as he once more chased the cat around the room for possession of his toy.

"I have something very important to tell you," the teacher said seriously, reaching into her robes and handing Hermione, who had seated herself next to Harry, a small vial of a dark red potion. "Two weeks have gone by, and it is now time for Mr. Malfoy to become himself again."

"Already?" Hermione murmured, tears coming to her eyes. "But it can't have been…"

"It has been fourteen days to this date, Miss Granger. I've discussed with Professor Tobin, and we have made a change to the system…only Mr. Malfoy will take a potion today…in two days time, both you and Mr. Potter will take the de-aging potion."

"Why wait?" asked Harry.

"We feel the students might need a break, to just catch up and talk to their friends, and possibly their partners…and I trust some individuals might even need time to just be alone."

"Should we give it to him now?" queried Harry, his own voice choked up.

"Yes. It will knock Mr. Malfoy out for several hours…he'll probably wake up around dinnertime so he can go eat. And all of his clothes inside his trunk and on him will go make to his normal size."

Hermione paled. "You mean they have to be in the trunk?"

"That's right…and at their normal size, no shrinking charms."

With a soft cry, Hermione raced into Draco's room, the sound of a trunk being slammed down and then opening filling the front room. "What's Hermione doing with all my clothes?" Draco asked, climbing into Harry's lap, Sparkles safe in his arms. "She told me to fold them earlier…and now she's unfolding them."

"Hermione wants them all in the trunk now," Harry explained, wiping away the tears gathering in his eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Draco asked softly, reaching up and wiping a tear that Harry hadn't caught.

"I'll be going now, Mr. Potter," announced McGonagall, rising to her feet. Smiling sadly at the child, she ruffled the blond locks and then continued out the door, the portrait closing behind her.

"Got them all to fit!" exclaimed Hermione, exiting Draco's room with a satisfied smirk on her face. But one look at the child, hugging his dragon and sitting on Harry's lap sent her into a wave of tears.

"Why are you both crying?" Draco asked again, concern forming on his angelic features.

"Come here, Draco," Hermione murmured, holding out her arms for the boy. Scrambling off of Harry's lap, Draco allowed himself to be picked up and carried into his bedroom, Harry trailing behind.

"What's going on?" Hermione didn't answer the Slytherin's question, just sat him down under his covers and sat on the edge of the bed, Harry on the other side. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You did nothing," Hermione whispered, pushing him so he lay on his pillow. "Absolutely nothing wrong." Harry, who had been holding onto the stuffed dragon, passed it to the child, who immediately latched onto it.

"Why are you tucking me in? It isn't even lunchtime yet."

"You know we love you, right Draco?" Hermione whispered, placing a kiss on his brow. The child nodded, more puzzled then ever. "We need you to drink this for us, okay?" she murmured, holding out the vial.

"Why?"

"It's…for a test Professor McGonagall is holding…it'll taste good though," Hermione assured, voice heavy with tears.

"We'll always love you and care for you, no matter what," Harry whispered, placing a kiss on top of the golden head. "Remember that, okay?" Draco gave a nod and sat up, accepting the vial from Hermione.

"You're right," he smiled, "it does taste good. Like cranberries!" Hermione pulled the child to her, cradling him in her arms, as he started to go limp, the glass falling from his hand and shattering to the ground, eyes closing in sleep.

Harry pried the child out of Hermione's arms and laid him back down, having to hold Hermione to keep her from grabbing Draco again. Slowly, as they watched with bated breath, Draco began to change.

Seconds later, a sleeping sixteen-year-old lie on the bed, one arm still wrapped around Sparkles, a peaceful expression on his face. Hermione burst into loud wails, the child they'd cared for now officially gone.

Harry gently grabbed Hermione by her shoulders and led her from the room to the common room couch, sitting her down and pulling her into a hug, attempting to comfort her.

"Why did we have to change him back?" she sobbed, burying her head into Harry's shoulder. "Why couldn't we just keep him like that?"

"Because that's not who he's supposed to be," Harry murmured. "At least we got to spend some time with him, right? And who knows? Maybe he's changed."

"I hope so," Hermione mumbled, sitting up and wiping her eyes.

"Besides, you two are destined to be together," Harry grinned. "And it wouldn't be much fun if he was still a prat."

"We were not destined!" Hermione cried, face reddening in embarrassment. "Unexpected could be anyone…like maybe I'd fall in love with Snape!" Harry mentally tried to picture the couple and gagged.

"Don't ever say that again," he begged, still chasing away nasty images. "Please, please, please don't ever say that."

"I was just making a point," Hermione sniffed.

For the rest of the day, the two lounged around the common room, neither hungry for lunch. Hermione managed to finish up her homework due on Monday, and still had time to gloat that she was free of Harry's own work and watch her friend toil through it.

When the clock chimed five, a loud grumble accompanied it. "I think I'm hungry," Harry chuckled, patting his stomach. "Should we head down to dinner?"

"What about Draco?" Hermione murmured, glancing at the closed bedroom door where the Slytherin still slept. "What if he wakes up?"

"I don't think we're going to be the first thing he wants to see," Harry said softly, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "McGonagall said that some of them would just want to be alone…I think Draco would be under that category. A lot happened to him…he'll need some time to think about it."

"I guess you're right…" Hermione said reluctantly. "But he should be awake now, shouldn't he? I'll go ask if he wants to come down with us."

Harry opened his mouth to say that wasn't such a good idea, but Hermione was already outside Draco's door. Her hand twisted the knob, but much to her surprise it was locked. "Draco? Are you okay?" she murmured, not really expecting a reply. She didn't get one. "Well, he woke up," she announced softly to Harry, leaving the closed door. "We can bring him something back from dinner…he's sure to be hungry by then."

Throwing one last concerned look at the locked door, Hermione exited the portrait and towards dinner. Entering the Great Hall, she was quite sad to see no children at the benches, just all teenagers.

Terry was still sitting at the Gryffindor table, apologizing to everyone. "You should have seen him!" giggled Lavender as Harry and Hermione sat down. "He went up and hugged Snape a few minutes ago!"

Harry stared goggle-eyed at the Ravenclaw. "You did what?"

"Hugged him," the boy laughed. "I wanted to apologize for biting him earlier…and some of the potion effects are still lingering…like I'm still expecting hugs and I still keep trying to bite."

"You bit Snape?" Hermione repeated faintly. "I'm honestly surprised you aren't dead."

"Us too," muttered Ron. "From the constant abuse Terry managed to put us through."

"I said I was sorry!" Terry exclaimed. "I honestly didn't mean for you to go to the hospital!"

"Uh huh," the red head grumbled.

"How did your parents ever handle you?" Lavender asked, quite interested in the answer.

Terry rubbed the back of his head. "They didn't give me any sort of sweet or cake…that's what made me act like that."

"We are such idiots," Lavender groaned, pounding her head against the table. "If we'd only known." Then a thought occurred to her. "Why didn't you tell us not to give you candy?"

"Why would I? I was deprived of sugar as a child…you can't mean to tell me I'd willingly give it up when I knew you and Ron knew nothing about it."

"Hey, Mione," said Ginny, sliding into the seat next to her friend. "Where's Draco?" she asked, looking around the hall. "I don't see him anywhere."

"He locked himself in his room," Hermione said quietly. "He just needs to be alone for a little bit."

"Hermione? I mean…Granger?" asked a voice from behind the Gryffindor. The girl turned to see Pansy fidgeting behind her, twisting her hair black hair between her fingers.

"It's Hermione, Pansy," the girl said firmly, holding out her hand to the Slytherin. "We're friends, aren't we?"

After a split second decision, Pansy smiled and took the offered hand, giving it a small shake. "I was wondering…do you know where Draco is?"

"Locked in his room," Hermione said sadly. "Harry and I are just leaving him alone for a little while…he needs some time to think."

"Oh…all right. Well…when you see him, tell him I said I hope he feels better." Hermione nodded as Pansy turned and went back to her own table. She had understood what the Slytherin had said…she wanted Draco to know she cared about him and to know she was his friend.

"I'm going to head back to the room," stated Hermione, wrapping a roll into a napkin. "And I promise not to disturb Draco," she promised, noticing the look Harry was giving her.

Walking back down the hall, the girl sighed. Everyone else appeared to be all right with their older forms…though embarrassed like Terry perhaps. But Draco…so much she'd learned about him…so much he wanted to keep secret. How could anyone expect to go back to his own ways after going through all that?

Entering the common room, Hermione sat down on the couch, and picked up a book to read, desperate to get her mind off of Draco. But after seconds of reading, a soft noise disturbed her concentration and she set the book aside.

Creeping up to the Slytherin's door, she pressed her ear against it, the sound now distinguishable. Crying. Draco was crying. At once, the mothering instincts she'd started to react to kicked in. Trying the door, she glared at the brass knob when it refused to turn.

"Alohamora," she breathed, flicking her wand at the door. Silently, the door opened and Hermione entered, feeling her own eyes mist up at the sight laid out before her. Draco was still in his black robes he'd been wearing, and still beneath the covers, though he was curled up around Sparkles, shoulders shaking with soft sobs.

Crossing silently over to the bed, Hermione clambered up and slid under the covers beneath the crying boy, arms hesitantly wrapping around him in a hug. Draco didn't push away like she'd expected, he merely pulled her to him and buried his face against her.

"It's okay," she murmured, rubbing small circles on his back. "Everything is all right."

With a sudden jolt, Draco sat up and shoved the Gryffindor away, silver eyes glittering with anger and tears. "Nothing is all right," he hissed, "and it never will be."

"Draco…"

He roughly pushed her hand off of his shoulder, before drawing back farther on his bed. "Just leave me alone, Granger….please," he whispered brokenly.

"I just want to let you know…what Harry and I said was true. We really do love you, Draco…and we just want to help."

"I don't need any help," the Slytherin murmured, looking down at his clasped hands. "If you'd wanted to help me, you wouldn't have been born."

Hermione recoiled like she'd been slapped, a hurt look washing over her face. "That really isn't you talking," she said after a minute, eyes downcast. "You told me so many times you loved me…that must have meant something."

"It didn't," Draco snarled. "Just forget any of that ever happened."

"It did happen, and I won't forget. During those two weeks, you were a human Draco. You weren't afraid to show your feelings, tell us your problems, allowed us to comfort you. You didn't mind being told you were loved for, you accepted the hugs we gave you. Don't you dare try and tell me that was nothing."

"Maybe I just want it to be nothing," Draco retorted. "I didn't want you in my life…why did you have to be nice to me?" he whispered, tears trickling down his cheeks. "Why couldn't you just ignore me and throw me away? Then this wouldn't have happened."

"What wouldn't have happened?" Hermione asked quietly, inching closer and cupping his cheek in her hand, thumb wiping away the tears. Draco stiffened, but didn't move.

"You wouldn't have made me care about you."

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry this chapter turned out to be a little shorter then normal...it just seemed like a very good place to end. And as most of you probably saw, I changed Draco back a little earlier then expected...I just felt like that if I kept doing Draco-Chan, then I wouldn't have anything else left for the other kids.

As a strike of boredom (I actually finished this chapter earlier then I normally do, this time on Saturday night!) I'm answering a lot of different questions. But from now on, I'll only answer five. Oki? Great! n.n And if there are spelling errors, I am very, very sorry. My spellcheck changes a lot of things I don't want changed and I had a band-aid on my finger...broke almost my entire nail off cleaning my room earlier today so I kept hitting extra keys. XD

I'd also like to remind everyone, that on chapter ten in the Author's Notes are the answers to the most commonly asked questions...please check to see if your question was asked there before repeating the same question again. Arigatou!

And, I'd like to thank the following people for their wonderful reviews:

LishaChan, athenakitty, Kou Shun'u, tigerlily727, wockygal, memommy27, kat6528, Slytherin ice princess, Sugary Peach Tea, cocoaducks, FlickFlick, Gertyke, LiLbLueangeL1223, soulsaint06, Laen, Invisible Voice, BrennaM, Alenor, HaliJade Snape, charmedsisters, ilovetom88, blackrosebunny451, samhaincat, scarlet-knight13, it wasn't me, Pernese-Kat, CircleOfStone, Rain-Pyr, Bronwen, jujyfruits7766, GirlWaterShaman, LosOjosDeLaVida, ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies, dizzydragon, knivesgirl346, gtrlvr8877, bleedingheart666, Hawaiian-Rachael, Katarcta, citcat299, BluDiamond, Serena, deejayD, Aleskris, D/HR SHiPPER, DraconisGirl, rogue solus, Pia O'Leary, Frogs Rok, YamiClara, wackyone, Emma Lee18, Corinne Black, coffeentoffee, BlueBabyAquaGirl, Coffee-is-addictive, finally-defeated, and The Stump

And now on to all of those questions...

**Are you going to write a sequel? **_submitted by LishaChan  
_Yup! I already have a rather funny idea planned that would probably work more on Draco/Hermione and Harry/Ginny, but would be humorous as well. But don't try asking for ideas of what it is…I ain't saying nothing.

**If Hermione is a muggle born, and Harry grew up with the Dursleys, how would they deal with magic?** _submitted by wockygal  
_Very differently then how Draco did. Harry, his entire life, was told the 'm' word was bad so he'll probably be quite frightened would be my logical guess. Hermione though might see it as some big fantasy land from a faerie tale and fit in quite comfortably...with just a few little mishaps.

**How on earth are Harry and Draco going to deal with Hermione when she's a kid?** _submitted by __cocoaducks_  
Very carefully. XD She's going to be a wild little thing, much like myself when I was younger. I'd say the best thing for them to do is have hardhats, bring protective dragon hide gloves, and follow behind her with a ton of band-aids...for all the people unfortunate enough to get in her way.

**What is Draco's opinion of Dobby going to be like after he turns back?** _submitted by FlickFlick  
_Quite honestly, I really don't see it as being any different. Dobby had always been nice to Draco when he was a kid, and he was still probably polite and kind to him until he left the manor in Draco's second year. So going to Dobby might actually be comforting for Draco...knowing someone he grew up with is there.

**What school do you go to? You write so totally awesome! **_submitted by __LiLbLueangeL1223_  
Awww, thanx. I can't give out my school name online, but it is a high school somewhere in Illinois. I'm a sophomore there. But I give no credit to my writing to the school. XD In English last year (I'm not in it right now, starting second semester) I did win third place in a Literary Festival for my narrative, but other then that, my writing was nothing special. If anything, I'd give credit to my eighth grade L.A. teacher, who entered me in a ton of poetry contests, and I won several…even got published in a book. The strange thing is, I'm actually going to be taking junior English classes this year…on a test I took in ninth grade, they told me my reading/writing skill level was at college level so I'm in all these advanced classes. :shudder: I really don't see a difference except I get more homework.

**What's your background/But are you by chance Japanese? s**_ubmitted by Laen/Alenor  
_I hope you two don't mind...the question was very similar so I just grouped it together. No, I'm not Japanese, though I wish I was. I learned all the language I knew from writing anime fanfics, reading anime fanfics, reading mangas, and listening to some of my DVD's in Japanese. n.n As for what my background is, I'm 25 Italian and 25 Slovak. The other 50 of me is made up of Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and British, although I unfortunately don't have an accent. But I can mimic one when I want too. Sound rather realistic too.

**Arethere going to be as many fun things happening when Hermione becomes a child?** _submitted by Pernese-Kat  
_Oh yes! She's my little 'wild child'. XD Draco was polite, and slightly accident prone. Harry will be more of shy but then a very outgoing kid, though still careful, and Hermione...is Hermione. Don't worry, I already have several fun things planned for the bookworm.

**When Harry/Hermione become all chibi like, are they going to freak out about the magic?** _submitted by CircleOfStone  
_Harry would be a definite yes to that question. He grew up his life learning magic was bad and unreal, so he would probably either A. think that he'd gone insane or B. think the Dursley's had set up a trap to catch him saying the forbidden word. XD Hermione, I think, would treat the whole thing as a game and probably have quite a lot of fun with all the fun things to 'play' with.

**What chibi Harry Potter character would be your fav? Why?** _submitted by Rain-Pyr  
_Draco-Chan of course! I just picture him as the sweet little angel he is, along with his accident proneness. XD As for why, I think it's because I almost see myself in him. I am daily running into things and causing minor little accidents in my wake, and then I revert to sweetness. lol

**Who would you want to be in your group and why?** _submitted by Rain-Pyr  
_Hmmm...for one, I'd want Pansy. I do believe we'd be able to create some entertainment for the school. Although they'd probably hide in terror with me loose in the castle. My other partner I'd want would of course be...dun dun dun...Draco:dreamy sigh: Too bad I'm not an HP character...then my life would be complete.

**Why did you decide to have Harry in the middle instead of him being last?** _submitted by knivesgirl346  
_Have ya ever heard the saying, 'save the best for last?'. That's exactly what I'm doing. I really intend to go full blown on Hermione's character and want a lot of time to accomplish it. Also, because I really want to work on the D/Hr romance, and I really can't do that if Hermione is little...be pretty gross from Draco to be snogging a five year old. :shudders:  
**  
Are you going to do moreHP fanfiction on here after you're done with this one?** _submitted by Hawaiian-Rachael  
_I'm actually a tad confused by your question. XD If you go to my profile page, I have quite a number of other HP fics as well as several anime ones for YYH, WR, RK, and Yugioh. If you meant a sequel to this one though, the answer is yes!

**So, when the next person turns small, they won't remember the other person was small before?** _submitted by deejayD  
_That's correct. The child will only remember their own memories up to their current age, which is five years old. So to them, the events of the last two weeks, and the rest of their lives, so about ten years, never happened.

**When will Ron be turned little?** _submitted by Aleskris  
_Ron shall be little when Harry is! I decided that those two would have a lot of fond memories to share if they actually 'grew up' together...so, since Harry should be changing in a chapter or two, that's when Ron will be.

**Is Ron going to become a child too? (I'm assuming he is) and if yes, are you going to tell about it or will it be more like a side-thing that shows up every now and again?** _submitted by __Pia O'Leary_  
Yup, he is. n.n As for being a sideshow...I'm not quite sure. I do plan on him popping up quite a bit (more then Pansy with Draco) since I intend for him and Ron to become pretty good friends, but he won't be the main character. The way I write this story is in third person and I'm always with one of the main three characters. When I write, I try to pretend there's a thread and I'm not allowed to break it...I just have to let the scenes blend into each other. Although sometimes, I will cut it off and start a new one, when I either need to change the POV, the day, or which character I'm with, although I shouldn't really cut off at all in this fic unless it's a time change. And that had absolutely nothing to do with the question...

**Do you think that your lifestlye eg. religion, choices of music ect. has influence your writing style? **_submitted by Coffee-is-addictive_  
I don't think my religion has anything to do with it...I'm Catholic but I still enjoy doing things not allowed by it, like horoscopes, an occasioanl swear (oops) or at times lying to get myself out of trouble. lol But music does have a big impact. I currently have 220 clips on my Realone Player that I listen to whenever I write. If I'm writing a sad part, I'll switch the song to slow...in high tense situations, I'll move it to fast, loud music, and fluff I make sweet. Some of the songs I use a lot for all scenes are Running Away by Hoobastank (which I feel has several qualities), Numb by Linkin Park (I relate this song to Draco), and Going Under by Evanesence. For this chapter, if anyone's curious, I listened a lot to The Better Life (3 Doors Down), Heaven (DJ Sammy), Requiem (LOTR), and My December (Linkin Park)

**Do you believe that the character Draco in your story will ever become evil or betray Hermione? **_submitted by Coffee-is-addictive_  
No, not really. I love writing Draco, and see him as someone who would turn around from what Rowling wrote him as. He might have the occasional evil streak or be mean, but he won't ever try to give her to Voldemort or kill her, anything extreme like that.

**What is your opinion on people that cash in on J.K Rowlings success through the releasing of published books, that have been written with reference or relation to the books HARRY POTTER tm? **_submitted by Coffee-is-addictive_  
I'd have to say, it is just like the situation of Yugioh and Duel Masters. Every single time I see a commerical for the former, I want to go out and demand that Yugioh sues, seeing as they had the original idea. But for Rowling,it is a bit different. A lot of people like to dive into the world of magic so using that isn't wrong, but copying relatively close shouldn't be allowed. Then again, I've never seen one of these other books before.

**Do you believe that the Movies of Harry Potter tm. are an acurrate representation of the books written by the genius Miss J.K. Rowling? **_submitted by Coffee-is-addictive_  
Overall, I'd say yes. There are somethings I would go back and re-edit...like in PoA, I wouldn't have the kind of hinting at Hermione/Ron, since Rowling never wrote that in the books. And I would have definetly explained the Maurder's Map and its creators in the movie...my one friend was quite confused about that since she'd never read the books. But they did pick pretty good actors for the parts and each is holding the character's qualities quite well.


	13. Revelations

**Disclaimer: Elephants will someday fly and snails will be the fastest creatures ever to walk this earth. But me own Harry Potter? That would be never.**

**Parenting Class**

**Revelations**

No one moved, no one breathed. Hermione just sat staring at Draco, her honey eyes burning into his melted silver, hand frozen on his face. "How?" she whispered, "is that a bad thing?"

Draco didn't answer; just cast his eyes down, staring at his hands, shoulders shaking softly as tears once more spilled over, sadness overriding anger. "I'm not supposed to care," he murmured, still averting his eyes from the Gryffindor's intent stare. "It's a sign of weakness, putting someone before yourself."

"You have it wrong," Hermione answered, voice still soft. "Caring about someone is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, caring makes us stronger. We gain trust and confidence from our friends and love from our families."

"Love?" Draco snorted. "Don't be stupid."

"I'm not," Hermione said quietly. "You might not have grown up with a loving family, but wouldn't you consider the time you had with me and Harry as being loved?" Draco didn't answer. "Look," Hermione said, picking Draco's chin up so he had to look at her. "You know what I mean. Harry and I care and love you. Pansy certainly appeared to…she also told me at dinner to tell you she wanted you to feel better. Ginny cares. Snape certainly cares and a lot of other people. Do we all mean nothing?"

After a few seconds, Draco slowly shook his head, before allowing Hermione to pull him into her arms, and embrace him, her presence warm and comforting. "Caring isn't a bad thing," she repeated, resting her chin on top of his head.

They sat like that for a while, only the sound of the fire crackling from the common room faintly reaching their ears. Hermione heard the portrait open, but Harry wisely didn't come in, knowing best to leave the comforting to his friend.

The clock chimed ten, a while later, the bells ringing out softly. Hermione gently eased Draco out of her arms, and onto the pillows and moved to go to her own room. "Don't go," Draco murmured, his hand grasping Hermione tightly around the wrist. "Please…just…stay."

"All right," Hermione smiled, snuggling back beneath the covers. "I'll be right here." Content, Draco drifted off to sleep, one arm around Sparkles and his other hand clasped with Hermione's.

The Gryffindor girl didn't fall asleep as easily. She lay staring at the waterfall, watching as the multi-colored streams fell into the basin below. Everything was going to be so much different from now on. And in just two days time, either she or Harry would be five years old…and Draco really didn't seem to be in any kind of condition to look after them.

After a few minutes, Hermione fell asleep, lulled to the dream world by the soft splashes of water. One person though was still awake. Harry crept into the room, tiptoeing as to not wake anyone up.

"Finally fell asleep," he muttered, raising his camera. "Say cheese." A bright flash filled the room, fortunately waking neither occupant and Harry slunk back out, holding his camera protectively to his chest. "My picture," he murmured, petting the object. "All mine."

Morning dawned bright the next day, sun streaming through the dark green curtains and directly into Hermione's eyes. With a groan, she turned her face away and buried her face against the object next to her.

She gave a thankful sigh as whatever she was pressed against effectively blocked the light. Draco on the other hand, had just woken up as well and found himself staring at the light. Also with a groan, he rolled over, his head clunking against Hermione's, but he fell back asleep as soon as the obtrusive light disappeared. The Gryffindor didn't though.

With a little gasp, Hermione realized exactly how close they were. Foreheads were pressing, one of his arms was draped around her, their legs intertwined. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Harry snickered softly from the doorway.

"Harry," Hermione hissed, cheeks bright pink as she attempted to untangle herself from Draco's grasp. "This is not what it looks like," she defended, still attempting to move.

"Uh huh," Harry smirked. "Told you your lightning pattern was right."

"He asked me to spend the night!" the girl cried out, face now tomato red.

"So he likes you too?" Harry grinned.

"NO! No," Hermione repeated softer, thankful Draco was still sleeping. "He just didn't want to be alone…so I spent the night."

"Sure didn't look like that," piped up Ginny, appearing from behind Harry, an identical grin on her face. But then, the grin faded and she asked softer, "How's he doing?"

"He was really upset last night," Hermione murmured, temporarily lying still. "I don't think I've ever seen him so confused before, not even when he was little. He didn't know what to do at all."

"What do you mean?" the redhead asked, coming into the room and sitting on the edge of Draco's bed, careful to avoid the tangled legs.

"He told me he cared about me…and then he wasn't supposed to. He was just very…emotionally unstable I guess would be the best way to put it."

"And I was right again," crowed Harry triumphantly. "Remember I told you he would change? If he actually cares about you, then we did do something right."

"I hope he feels better," Ginny whispered, crawling up on the bed till she was by the Slytherin's head, admiring his peaceful features. "He deserves to be happy."

Hermione, now successfully free, rolled out of the bed. "Why don't we all head down to breakfast? Draco will probably be up when we get back."

"All right," Harry agreed. "Come on Ginny." The fifth year held up her hand for a minute and tucked Sparkles back into Draco's arm, while Hermione pulled the blanket back over him. Harry shook his head; a bemused smile on his face as the two girls fussed about making sure Draco was comfortable. Seconds later, they left, the door closing softly behind them.

As soon as it was silent, Draco sat up, tears he'd been hiding behind closed eyelids spilling over. "Hermione was right," he whispered, hugging the stuffed dragon. "They do care…and I was happy. And I still will be," he decided, crawling out of bed and to his trunk, where he knew he had quite a new assortment of clothes, though Sparkles was still held tightly in his hands.

"I'm different now…and I'll probably always see them differently. Not just Scarhead and Mudblood. But as people," the Slytherin said to himself, grabbing a pair of blue jeans and a deep green tee shirt out of the trunk.

"Hermione…she's really nice. Caring like a mother should be. Forgiving too. And friendly. And Harry…he's fun, not scared to have fun. That dumb Gryffindor pride I'd guess," Draco muttered to himself, pulling on a pair of socks.

"And even Ginny's nice. Never thought that about a Weasley before. And Pansy…we've always been friends. I guess this just made us closer." Now finished dressing, Draco pulled one of the jackets Hermione had boughthim and stuffed Sparkles in the pocket.

It might seem childish to continue to carry around the dragon, but it just made the Slytherin feel better. To have something to remember those happy days always close by chases away the worries. But there is one thing that would help even more.

Picking uphis trusty Nimbus 2001 from where it sat inthe bedroom,Draco exited the room quietly, the jester fortunately snoozing in his frame. Avoiding all the main halls, the blod managed to sneak out of the school by a back exit by the Transfiguration room.

Crossing quickly over to the Quidditch field, thankfully empty, Draco kicked off into the air, climbing higher and higher in the sky, the wind rushing against his face, making him actually feel alive as the adrenaline pumped through his blood.

Doing a sudden dive, Draco was surprised to see another person riding up to greet him. Immediately, the Slytherin tensed, not quite wanting to face anyone yet. "Hey," Harry smiled, leveling his broom in front of Draco's. "Are you feeling better?"

Draco shrugged, not sure of how to answer.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to practice," Harry said, pulling a small gold ball out of his pocket.

"What's that?" asked Draco curiously.

"A False Snitch," Harry grinned. "Hermione made it for me. It works like a regular snitch, but if no one catches if after a while, I can summon it back to me."

"Interesting." Draco said nothing more, simply watching Harry, who squirmed beneath his gaze. "Aren't you going to throw it?"

"Oh…yeah, right," Harry laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "But first close your eyes so the snitch can get a head start." Obediently, Draco did, and Harry sent the golden ball out. Counting to ten, both opened their eyes. "First one to catch it wins," Harry stated, before taking off.

Draco surveyed the stadium, watching as Harry randomly darted across, emerald eyes scanning the field for any sign of the snitch. A small glimmer of gold caught the Slytherin's eye, shimmering in the opposite corner Harry was in.

Casually looping down as to not attract the Gryffindor's attention, Draco steadily made his way toward the snitch. His hand reached out to grab it, but the snitch shimmered and then faded. "What happened to it?" Draco shouted.

"Looks like I forgot," Harry chuckled, flying over to Draco. "There are two mirage images on the field that move just like the normal snitch. I mean, it wouldn't be as much fun with only one snitch and no bludgers."

"You could have told me that before," Draco grumbled.

For the next two hours, the boys flew around the field, never seeming to find the real snitch. From the ground, Hermione and Ginny watched, seated comfortably on a blanket and bundled up.

"When are we going to tell Dumbledore about Lucius?" asked Ginny, nibbling on an apple she'd brought out.

"Maybe later this evening…if Draco wants too. We don't want to force him into anything."

"Uh oh," the redhead murmured, pointing at a figure crossing over to them. "Uncle Sev is coming." Both laughed softly at the nickname they'd given the Potions professor, believing it didn't make him seem so evil.

Both boys also saw Snape and descended, landing next to Hermione and Ginny, the snitch still floating around the arena. "Draco, could you come with me please?" Snape asked, voice slightly strained.

Draco looked around at the group, as if seeking assurance. Hermione nodded and Draco walked over to Snape, following up to the castle, one hand gripping his broomstick and the other in his pocket, where Sparkles currently resided.

Through the gloomy halls Draco followed his godfather, all the way to the man's office. Once Draco was inside, Snape closed the door and gestured for the boy to take a seat, conjuring up a pot of tea.

"What did you need to see me about, Professor?" Draco asked.

"There isn't any reason for you to be so formal with me, Draco," said Snape, pouring the Slytherin a cup and handing it to him. "I've been talking with Professor Dumbledore about you."

"What about me?" he asked, instantly on guard.

"Lucius," was all Snape said. Draco hung his head down, realizing that his secret had been found out. "I'm not asking you here to talk about it," Snape smiled. "If you want to do that, I'm sure we could find you a counselor. But I am here to offer a proposition."

"Yes?" Draco whispered, a small ray of hope entering his eyes.

"Professor Dumbledore and I were discussing how you seem to have a talent, shall I say, at Potions. Would you perhaps like to spend the summer with me and continue to work on that skill?"

The hidden message was received. Would you like to get away from Lucius? Draco didn't even bother with words, just simply launched himself at Snape and hugged him, the Potions teacher wrapping his own arms around the distraught boy. "Thank you," Draco murmured into Snape's robes, shoulders shaking.

"You're very welcome," Snape replied; pulling Draco off of him, and studying the boy, silver eyes bright with tears. "Look at you," he murmured. "You've grown so much in such a short time. I'm so proud of you."

* * *

Hermione and Harry were lounging out in the common room when the portrait swung open and Draco entered, a smile on his face, almost a skip to his step. "What did Snape want?" asked Harry, setting aside his book. 

"He's invited me to stay the summer with him," Draco grinned.

"I'm so happy for you!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing forward and engulfing the Slytherin in a hug. "And you're going to have the chance to get ahead of all of us in Potions!" He smirked and she laughed.

Hermione released him from her embrace and Draco smiled at her and Harry. "I wanted to tell you both…thank you," he whispered. "You've done so much for me…I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you."

"You already did," Hermione smiled. "You became our friend."

The next two days passed by in a blur, of going to classes on Monday and relaxing later by the fire. Draco appeared to be doing well, although some of the students were teasing him (in a friendly way) about the stuffed dragon they'd found sticking out of his book bag. Most of the girls though, found it positively adorable that he carried Sparkles around.

During mealtimes, Draco sat at his own table, Pansy and Blaise his company then. Every evening, he and Harry both went out to play Quidditch, Ginny and Ron sometimes joining them while Hermione watched from the ground.

On Tuesday, Hermione was awoken to Leviculus shouting for someone. With a groan, she crawled out of her nice warm bed and went to open the portrait. "Finally," McGonagall sniffed, entering the room. "It's nearly six already Miss Granger, why is no one up?"

"We enjoy sleeping," Draco muttered, exiting his own room, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and trailing on the ground, Sparkles beneath his arm. With an over dramatic sigh, the Slytherin flopped onto the couch, Hermione moving his feet so she too could sit.

"I've just come to bring these," the Transfiguration Professor said, placing two small vials of purple liquid on the table. "When Mr. Potter wakes up, I suggest you give him this. Best of luck to you Mr. Malfoy, and whoever your partner will be." With a graceful flutter of her robes, McGonagall left, the two vials sitting innocently on the table.

Hermione picked both up and held them up to the light. "Do they look different to you?"

"Nope," Draco snickered. "Guess you're going to drink by chance."

"I don't want to turn little," Hermione moaned.

"We all have to do it," Draco pointed out.

"But I don't want too. Not saying I don't trust you and Harry, but I'm concerned about how you're going to manage me."

"Why do you sound so worried?" Draco asked. "We won't kill you or anything."

"It isn't me I'm worried about…it's you."

Draco looked at Hermione strangely, but before he could ask what she meant, Harry lumbered out of his room, awoken by the talking. "Those aren't what I think they are, are they?" he queried, looking fearfully at the vials.

"It is," sighed Hermione. "Take one, Harry. Professor McGonagall said to drink them as soon as you woke up."

"What if I don't want too?" the boy said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's for a class, and you will drink one," Hermione insisted, thrusting one of the vials at Harry. "Now drink it."

Draco settled back across the couch and watched with amusement as both downed the grape juice, both hoping that theirs didn't contain the potion. "I don't look any different," Hermione bubbled, starting into the mirror.

"It might take a while," Draco and Leviculus said together, before the jester burst into laughter. Harry crossed his fingers and prayed it wasn't him. Hermione continued to stare at her reflection.

"I still haven't changed," she remarked, "and neither has Harry. Do you think the potion was a dud?"

"I think you might want to look again," Draco chuckled. Whirling around, Hermione looked for her best friend, unable to find him. "Look down." Doing so, Hermione found herself staring at a small child, his black hair a spiked mess over his head, his glasses on the floor, the emerald eyes shining brighter then before.

The chibi Harry eyed the two warily. "Where am I?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"You're at Hogwarts, Harry," Hermione smiled, sticking Harry's wand, which had appeared in her hand at the start of Harry's transformation, in her robe pocket. "I'm Hermione and this is Draco," she said, gesturing to the blond, who was now making his way off the couch.

"What's Hogwarts?"

"A school for magic," Hermione smiled. "Isn't that neat?"

"You said the M word!" Harry gasped, backing away from Hermione.

"What? Mudblood?" Draco asked, face puzzled, before Hermione bonked him upside the head. "That hurt," he growled.

"That is a rude word too," Hermione reprimanded. "And I won't don't want to hear you saying it again." More gently to Harry, the girl asked, "What M word, Harry?"

The child shook his head. "If I say it Uncle Vernon will get mad," he whispered. Then, his eyes widened. "Where is Uncle Vernon? And Aunt Petunia? And Dudley?"

"They're at your house," Hermione assured. "Professor Dumbledore, the head of Hogwarts, had you brought here for a little while. But your relatives know you're here, don't worry. But you're going to be in our care now," she smiled.

"But you said the M word!"

"And what word is that?"

"Magic," the child breathed, before quickly clamping a hand over his own mouth, as if expecting a lightning bolt to come shooting out of the ceiling and strike him.

"I think," Draco muttered, catching Hermione's eye, "we have a problem."

**Author's Notes:**

**OMK!! I JUST DELTED EVERY SINGLE BLOODY QUESTION, NOTE, AND COMMENT! I HATE MY MOUSE! HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::GRABS KODACHIS AND RUNS OFF SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER::**

::arrives back an hour later:: I feel a little better now...not really. Gah! I am getting a new mouse for Christmas! That's final!

Quickly reuploaded for some first person I accidently added in XD

Back to what I was origianlly going to say. I know the chappie is a little short, but at least I got it up n.n I didn't think I would be able too. Also, by request, I'm putting out another survey question. _What is your favorite animal and why? _My faves would be Panthers (dark and sneaky) Wolves (Tsume and Toboe got me hooked) Koalas (cute and cuddly) and elephants (I dun know why. I collect figurines of them though and am pretty good at drawing them.)

Also, thanks so much for the reviews! I shall now type everyone who reviewed for the second time. ::sigh::

Thanks to:

LishaChan, Gertyke, jackyskipskip, pretty-in-pink898, bms22456, Sputzo, Sugary Peach Tea, CircleOfStone, knivesgirl346, Rain-Pyr, Selene Ann, dizzydragon, ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies, ilovetom88, Pia O'Leary, chaotic-mind-sevi, jujyfruits7766, Frogs Rok, Yokai Cesia and Chi, Hawaiian-Rachael, scarlet-knight13, Crystal, blackrosebunny451, paprika90, ShadowOfMoonlight, Liz, BluDiamond, LiLbLueangeL1223, larkspur27, Smileystar04, BrennaM, Raisa, cierra, Ashley, gtrlvr8877, Saiyachick, Kiyoko, Hiscefit, Rinaula, Laen, Alenor, Slytherin ice princess, regina-terrae, Siria, Kaylee-Angel, samhaincat,GirlWaterShaman, Spicysuga, DraconisGirl Emma Lee18,Anonymous, peachfreak, hp-lotr-potc-fan, D/HR SHiPPER, citcat299, Mashed-Potato01, $ FaYe$, RiRiana, coffeentoffee, Stormy Skies, morning-flower, natyslacks, MeLiO, KERRY, Geeses 2 be, YamiClara, hermionejanegranger, The Stump, Stella Blu, kendra is cheese, !Matt!, person, MokubaDoll, BlueBabyAquaGirl, Jaquie, Night-Mistrie, and trapped-in-a-dream

Also, reviews are especially are loved for this chappie. Why? My b-day is this thursday, and I'll be 16!! Yay!! And reviews are equal to birthday presents! lol So next update, I shall officaly be 16! So please do review! n.n

And here are the questions to this chapter. Remember to ask!

**You know how you said Harry was raised to think magic is bad and unreal and he wuldn't go well with magic and Hermione would think she's in a fantasy game. When you were five how do you think you would have acted to find magic was real and fun, lots of fun?** _submitted by Rain-Pyr  
_Oh my Kami! My first thought would probably been 'I'm going to go give everyone a pet unicorn!' I was enthralled my unicorns, wrote a story on one (which sucked pretty badly when I go back and look at it) I have animals, figurines, and a ton of other unicorn things. The next thing I probably would have done would be to try and befriend the Blast Ended Skewerts...I believed everything was friendly. lol And my grand finale would have been attempting to actually try magic, and probably blow up everything in a five mile radius. I'm not known to be the most careful person XD

**Will she Pansybe a bigger part in the fic now or just how she is?** _submitted by ilovetom88  
_I'm actually not quite sure. She'll probably just stay how she is since she interacted the most with Draco, and with Draco older now she won't be as main. Especially since her partners aren't that much of main characters. Although I will have her pop up...can't just forget about her.

**What kind of animes or mangas do you read?** _submitted by scarlet-knight13  
_Too many in my parents opinoins. lol The Mangas I read consist of: Yugioh, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, Marmalade Boy, Fruits Basket, .HackLegend of the Twilight, and Chobits. The Animes I watch are: Inyasha, Wolf's Rain, Yugioh, Yu Yu Hakusho, .HackSign, Escaflowne, and .HackLegend of the Twilight (although I've only seen one episode, my mom won't let me stay up anymore. XD) I write fanfics for some of them, so if anyone wants to read them, I'd be overly happy. n.n

**I'm just wondering, is Ron going to be paired up with anybody? Pansy? Lavender? **_submitted by LiLbLueangeL1223  
_I'm actually thinking of possibly pairing him up with Pansy. I think the pairing Ron/Lavender is cute, but since they've already been old together I don't see it working out in this fic. If you have comments to add to Ron's pairing, please say so in your review!

**I know you broke your wrist earlier this year...but I can't remember how. lol Care to refresh my memory? **_submitted by coffeentoffee  
_Sure. It twas the morning of March 6th and I was in badminton tryouts, which should have ended Tuesday, but the coach was stupid and kept dragging them out. At 7 AM, he had two girls come up to the court he was by and practice a foot drill for two minutes. At 7:15, twas my turn. I was doing fine, but with two seconds left to go, my left ankle gave out. Earlier that week it gave out in P.E. during a twelve minute run and I got a D on it, since it took me almost fifteen minutes to finish hobbling around. XD Neways, when my ankle gave out, I fell on my left wrist. At first everyone thought it was just a bad sprain, but when I started to go really white and actually swayed the coach told me I'd better go home. So I did so, and I think that was the first time in my life I nearly fainted. Going out to my dad's car, I kept seeing little black dots...a bit amusing now that I think about it. When I got home, it still hurt so my dad took me to the hospital. They told me I'd broken my wrist in two places, but it twas a clean break and I should be fine after I saw a doctor. So on Monday, I went to the wrist docotor (or whatever they're called) and he informed me I needed surgery. That was the first time I cried since I'd broken it. So on the 12th, I went into surgery. Yuck. Fortunatley, it was my left hand, so I could still write outlines for fics, although if anyone noticed, I had a note up on each story explaining my current problem. As of now, I have a 4 inch rod in one of my bones on the left side and two small pins on the right side. ::sigh:: But I do have full mobility, although it hurts sometimes. But I can write again! n.n


	14. Oo Grandpa?

**Disclaimer: I own the now sixteen years of my life, but still no Harry Potter. A tad disappointed, I was so sure Rowling was going to give it to me as a present XD**

**Parenting Class**

**O.o Grandpa?**

Hermione knelt down in front of Harry and took his two little hands in hers. "Magic isn't bad, Harry. Why would your uncle get mad?"

"It isn't real," Harry whispered, shaking his head. "Uncle Vernon doesn't like things that aren't real…he always gets really mad."

"Come on," said the girl, rising to her feet and holding only one of Harry's hands now. "We're going to go visit Dumbledore…he'll know what to do."

"I'll stay here," announced Draco, preparing to settle back on the couch. He still didn't care much for Dumbledore…the old man scared him somewhat.

"Oh no you don't." Hermione grabbed the Slytherin by his ear and dragged him off the couch to the portrait hole. "Harry is your charge too and you're coming." Turning to Harry, she asked kindly, "It's a long walk to Dumbledore's office. Would you like me to carry you?"

Harry, after a few seconds thought, gave a tentative nod and allowed Hermione to pick him up and settle him on her hip. In silence, they made their way down the hall, only Draco's occasional curses as he rubbed his sore ear breaking the silence.

"You didn't have to pull it that hard," he grumbled. "Now it's going to be red for days!"

"Quit your whining," Hermione laughed, punching Draco lightly in the shoulder. "I didn't even twist it."

"Are you two married?" Harry asked out of the blue, bright emerald eyes staring up at Hermione.

The reactions were priceless. Hermione stopped walking at once, mouth wide open in surprise and shock, Draco pretty much the same though the expression was much more comical on the normally composed Slytherin.

"We're only seventeen," gasped Hermione.

"Sixteen for me," corrected Draco, "although that really isn't that young in wizarding culture…Erm, I mean our culture," he said hastily, seeing Harry's eyes widen at another forbidden word. "Although," he whispered to himself, "Hermione would probably be a good match."

Even though the boy's voice was soft, barely noticeable, Hermione picked up on it, though thankfully Harry didn't. '_What's happening to me?'_ she thought, as her whole body seemed to be filled with a strange, though comfortable, warmth, her fingers and toes tingling. '_Did those words Draco said really have this effect on me. Oh God,_' she realized, '_I think…I think I.'_

Thankfully, for the sake of Hermione's sanity before she could come to her heart-stopping conclusion, the trio arrived at the two gargoyles that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Do you know the password?" Draco asked, completely oblivious to Hermione's inner turmoil.

"Nugggh," she said,weakly leaning against one of the stone creatures.

"She doesn't look so well," Harry remarked, placing one of his hands on Hermione's forehead. "She's warm too."

Draco pulled Harry out of Hermione's arms and set the child on the ground, before rushing to catch Hermione as the girl collapsed, legs giving out beneath her. "Is she all right?" Harry queried, eyes holding concern for the Gryffindor.

"I think she's running a fever," Draco murmured, scooping Hermione into his arms bridal style. In truth, he was pretty sure he knew why. She must have worried herself sick over all the accidents he got into when he was younger. And it probably wasn't the best idea for her to run outside without a coat the day before when she went to help Hagrid catch the puffskeins that had gotten caught in a rather strong wind.

"Should we take her to the doctor?"

"Hospital wing will work just fine," mused Draco. "Follow me, Harry. We'll come visit Dumbledore after Hermione is feeling a little better, okay?"

"Okay," the child said agreeably, falling into step next to Draco as the Slytherin set off down another corridor.

"Too good to pass up," snickered a voice from behind a pillar, flashing a picture at the two teenagers before retreating back into the shadows. "I'll have to slip this into their pictures later." Darting off, no one ever realized the picture had been taken.

Draco made sure to keep to the back halls, not quite wanting to show Harry to the public yet. The kid was scared of magic, and being fussed over, seeing as he was a little celebrity, would only confuse and scare him.

They arrived at the clean, sunny hospital room a few minutes later, Hermione starting to stir though still not awake. Gently, Draco deposited her on one of the hospital beds and called, "Madam Pomfrey?"

The mediwitch exited out of her office, stacks of books and medical journals piled high in her arms. "What is it this time, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked, setting down the articles on a nearby table. Out of Draco's two weeks of being a child, he'd been down in the hospital wing nearly almost every other day because of his accidental injuries.

"Actually, it's Hermione this time. She has a fever."

"A one hundred point six to be exact," the nurse said, waving her wand over Hermione's unconscious form, the numbers appearing above her head. "Could you hand me that red bottle above you, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco gave the nurse the short bottle wordlessly, and Pomfrey administered it to Hermione. Harry gave a shout of surprise as smoke began to pour from Hermione's ears. "SHE'S ON FIRE!" he cried in alarm.

Acting quickly, the child grabbed a vase of flowers off a nearby nightstand, tossed the flowers over his shoulder, and threw the water on top of Hermione. The Gryffindor jerked wildly up, hands flailing and catching Draco in the face, sending him stumbling backwards.

He tripped over Harry, who had backed up seeing that Hermione was getting very close to hitting him as well, and landed on a swivel chair with wheels. Madam Pomfrey stepped backwards to avoid Harry crashing into her and crashed into Draco…hard.

With a yell from the Slytherin, the chair was on a wild rampage, going straight out the hospital wing door, Draco's shouts getting fainter by the second. Hermione stopped her thrashing and put a hand to her mouth. "Aren't there stairs out this door?" she gasped.

Loud, bumping noises were heard seconds later and Pomfrey nodded. "It appears so. You stay here with Miss Granger, Mr. Potter. I'll go check on Mr. Malfoy."

"I thought you were on fire," Harry whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," the girl said, attempting to figure out why Harry had thought she was on fire. "What am I doing here though?" she asked, looking around the hospital room with confusion.

"You had a fever," Harry stated, clambering up next to Hermione on the bed. "And Draco carried you here when you fell over outside of that man's office."

Hermione paused to think, trying to remember why she had collapsed in the first place. Sure, she had a fever but that didn't mean she would just faint. She didn't faint! She was Hermione Granger! Not some weak little girl!

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey came into the room, levitating a very banged up looking Draco. "Are you all right?" asked Harry, looking worriedly at Draco as the nurse lowered him onto a bed next to Hermione.

"Do I look it?" he growled, gingerly touching a large bump on his head. "I have a broken leg as she tells me, and I'm lucky I don't have a concussion."

"Maybe that warning I got in divination was meant for you," joked Hermione. "Beware of falling stairs…maybe it meant, stairs beware of Draco."

"He did chip off a good section of marble on the second flight," muttered Pomfrey handing Draco a cup of a bubbling red liquid. "We're going to have to remodel the entire set." Turning to her newest charge, she said, "Drink that up and then you're going to be here for a few hours. You two Miss Granger."

"But we need to see Dumbledore!" Hermione exclaimed, attempting to rise from the bed only to be pushed down with a firm hand and another heavy blanket thrown atop her. "It's about Harry!"

"Neither of you are in any condition to be running about the castle. Those bones of Mr. Malfoy's won't heal for a good four hours and he needs some recuperation time for his head injury. I guess I should be thankful he didn't hurt himself any worse."

"But it's urgent!"

The nurse sighed. "I'll run up and see if Professor Dumbledore can come down for a little while. But when I'm gone you two are to remain firmly in those beds. Harry, could you watch them for me?"

"Sure," the boy said softly, settling himself more comfortably on the foot of Hermione's bed.

"Good boy," she smiled.

Seconds later, the witch was gone and leaving two, handicapped teenagers and a small boy who (though still not known to her) was scared of magic. "So…." said Hermione, her voice breaking the silence.

"Please don't talk," Draco moaned, "it hurts my head."

"Quit being over dramatic," she snickered.

"How am I being dramatic? Look at the size of this lump! It's marring my face!" Draco pointed to the gigantic bump rising on the side of his cheek, already a light purple.

"'Marring my face'," Hermione mocked, sticking her tongue out at him. "Aren't you just vain?"

"You're doing it again," Harry intervened.

"Doing what?" both asked in unison.

"Arguing like a married couple. Are you _sure_ you're not married?"

"We are not!" grumbled Draco. "She just likes to pick fights!"

"I've seen people tease each other like that," Harry persisted. "And they're married or dating…you must be dating then," he decided.

"We're just friends!" Hermione cried, though her cheeks were turning a bright pink and she was getting that odd feeling again.

"Hello everyone," greeted Dumbledore, entering the hospital wing. "I hear you needed to see me about Mr. Potter?"

"That's right, Professor," Hermione said earnestly, the blush fading from her cheeks as the conversation steered away from the previous topic. "This is Harry," she clarified, pointing at the child at the foot of her bed.

"Ahh, Harry," Dumbledore smiled. "My, you look like your father."

"You knew my dad?" Harry asked, a grin filling up his face. The child immediately took a liking to this old man, who said he knew his father. That was the first person Harry had met who'd said that without disgust, like his aunt.

"Oh yes. He was a student of mine here before."

Harry's eyes widened. "But my dad…he..he isn't a…a…"

"A wizard?" Dumbledore asked gently. "He was Harry, and so was your mother."

"But Uncle Vernon says magic isn't real…he wouldn't lie, would he?"

"Your aunt and uncle don't like the idea of magic and they don't want you to believe it either. Do you know why, Harry?"

"You said the 'M' word," Harry whispered, eyes growing as round as beach balls.

"Yes, I did," chuckled the headmaster. "It isn't a bad word at all. Mr. Malfoy here grew up surrounded by magic. And you yourself are in a school that teaches how to use magic. Why? Because you are a wizard, Harry."

The ivy eyes, if possible, grew larger. "I'm a…a wizard?" he gasped.

"That's right. Although you aren't allowed to do magic yet; much too young."

"I can do…magic?" Harry breathed, the last word coming out as barely a whisper.

"When you get older you can. But you have magic blood in your veins. Your relatives didn't want you to know because they didn't want you to come here."

"Why? You seem very nice."

The old man laughed. "They don't like the idea of magic. To them, it is a strange and dangerous substance."

"You can do tricks with magic, right?" Harry said slowly.

"Of sorts. But we don't teach card tricks or how to pull a rabbit out of a hat I'm afraid."

"Can you do escape tricks?"

"Well, there is the apparating charm that transports the witch or wizard to wherever they want to go…"

"Then why didn't my parents use it? Uncle Vernon told me they died in a car crash…if they could get away, why didn't they?"

"I thought his parents were mur-" Draco started, before Hermione reached over and clamped a hand over the Slytherin's mouth.

"I'm afraid to say your uncle lied about your parents to you too," Dumbledore sighed.

"You mean they're alive?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No…your parents were both killed by a very bad wizard when you were just a baby."

"You mean they were murdered?"

Dumbledore bowed his head. Harry's lower lip trembled and his eyes filled with tears. Without warning, he launched himself at Dumbledore. "Oh, Grandpa," he sobbed into the periwinkle robes. "Why did anyone want to murder them?"

Hermione and Draco both raised an eyebrow, though Draco winced to keep up with his 'in immense pain' act. "Grandpa?" they echoed.

Harry peeped out of Dumbledore's robes, his tears already starting to end. "A few nights ago," he said softly, "I had a dream about a giant and him," he said, pointing at Dumbledore. "And I was there too…and I was talking to them. I don't remember what I said, but I called him Grandpa and the giant Uncle Haggy."

"As for your first question, Harry, this bad wizard didn't like your parents or you for that matter. He tried to kill you as well, but you escaped with just that scar on your forehead," said Dumbledore, pressing his finger against the tiny lightning bolt. "And as for the dream, you must have had a flashback to the night when Hagrid, the gamekeeper here at Hogwarts and Care of Magical Creatures teacher, brought you to your relatives house. I was there as well as Professor McGonagall…although I can't perceive where you got your nicknames for us from."

"Can I still call you Grandpa?"

"If you'd like," Dumbledore chuckled.

"He is going to be so embarrassed about this later," Draco snickered softly to Hermione, the girl nodding in agreement.

Then, a thought occurred to her. "I thought you were in a lot of pain."

Draco immediately began to moan and clutch his head. "Oh, do be quiet Mr. Malfoy," ordered Pomfrey, coming back into the room. "Now hold still so I can reset that bone of yours."

Seconds later, Draco was howling in pain (fake of course to get attention) as the nurse bustled around, propping up his pillows and forcing a nasty drought of bone strengthening into his mouth to seal his newly set bones back together.

"It doesn't hurt that bad!" growled Hermione holding her hands over her ears to stifle the cries. "And if you don't shut up I'll let you know what pain feels like." Wisely, Draco quieted down.

"Both of you need to get rest _now_," the nurse instructed. "Now lie down, close your eyes and sleep. Or I'll have to give you _very yummy _sleeping draught."

"I think I'll pass, thanks though," Draco murmured, obediently following the nurse's orders.

"But what about Harry? Who's going to watch him?" Hermione panicked.

"Can you think of anyone who would like to watch him?" asked Dumbledore.

"I do…but she's a year younger…and Professor Tobin said only sixth years and older could watch the kids."

"We can make an exception," Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling. "Poppy, could you please call down Ginny Weasley? She has someone to meet."

**Author's Notes:**

Sorreh the chappie was so short. I'm really tired and haven't had time to write it all week. And the fact I've been terrified of every review that has come in for this chapter. Normally, I luv reviews, but I got some rather mean ones from the user, The Ramen Ninja. Some comments he or she had were:

_this kinda sucks... but it's ok. i donno. i really hope you don't pair Hermione with Draco--ick. and... you need to work on your writing style_ I specifically say in the summary and in numerous author's notes in previous chapters, this is a D/Hr pairing. so why he or she would write that I haven't a clue. And I, personally, like my writing style very much. Everyone has his or her own, and this happens to be one of mine. Don't like it, don't read it.

_i WAS going to bash your writing, but it's not really fair since you're only 15..._ Actually, I'm 16 now, but that still hurt. I can take a verbal beating, but the thought of wanting to flame someone's story even more is just, I feel, extremely uncalled for.

_please dont have your little friends waste their time trying to offend me... i'm just telling you the facts, your story is poor and you shouldn't be upset that i flamed you_ This comment confused me beyond measure, because I found it when I got home from school after the others. I found out, later, that someone calling him/herself A Friend of Icy left a review telling The Ramen Ninja they were being incredibly rude to me. So whoever that was, thanks.

And even though this particular user apologized to me later through e-mail when I contacted him/her about the 'friend of Icy' it still hurts. Has anyone here ever read the chain letter about the boy and the fence? Well, if you haven't, this is how it goes. A boy is always insulting people and putting them down. His grandfather told him that for every insult he said, he had to hammer a nail into a fence in the backyard. At first, he enjoyed it, but then he grew tired of pounding the nails in and didn't like them in the fence anymore. So his grandfather told him to pull them out. He did, but holes were still left. The moral was, even if you apologize, the bit of hurt or pain you inflicted will always be there.

And I hate having to say that. I mean, there are hundreds of you who love this story and my writing, and I should be taking those paragraphs to thank you all indiviudally and let you know how much you mean to me! But instead, I give it to some flamer. :sigh: I don't even understand myself sometimes.

On a happier note (since I change moods often and now I'm cheering myself up by eating Andes Mints) last chapter got the most reviews ever! If I counted correctly, 114! If that could happen every chapter...:dreamy expression: I'd just like to thank you all so so so so so much for your wonderful support! I luv reading all of your comments!

As for the survey, it appears a lot of favorite animals consist of wolves, tigers, and surprisingly, dolphins! But I was seriously amazed at how many animals you could all name! O.o Still amazed. As another survey, if you want to take it since so many people seemed to luv the last one, what is your favorite color? Mine would be pink! Hehe, since kindergarten that has been my fave. After that is red (since pink is a shade of red) and then a deep emerald green for my Slytherin pride. I've taken all those quizzes online, and they all put me in Slytherin! n.n And lastly, silver is prettier then gold in my opinion. I won't wear gold jewelery, and silver is Slytherin. XD

It's quite late where I am, and I'm extremely tired, so I'm just going to give one giant thank you to everyone who reviewed...THANK YOU MINNA! And also thank you to those who sent me birthday cards and greetings! I had a great one by the way!

Oh, and for those confused about the Harry and the picture thing last chappie...I have a little obsession with Gollum from LOTR and he decided to pop into Harry's mind for a little while...

And a quick side note to not exactly a question..  
**tammie**: I've actually never heard Full Moon Wo Sagashite. XD But if I ever get into it or buy a DVD and enjoy it, I shall write a fanfic for it! n.n I tend to write fanfics on almost all of my fave animes...and if it as good as you say, I'm sure I'd write one.

And now, on to those questions...let's see what lucky 5 were picked this time...

**Is Harry going to take a liking to Ginny as kid just as Draco did with Hermione?** _submitted by ilovetom88  
_Oh yes! That's why I've arranged for Ginny to be babysitter! I see him taking to her probably because she's outwardly friendly, and she obviously cares a lot about him, and not just because of his fame. I can already see the next chapter...Dating my five year old boyfriend...hey, that'd be a cute title! Hehe, I like that!

**Does he (Harry)think he's going to be locked in the cupboard at some point?** _submitted by samhaincat  
_I plan on putting that in somewhere. Perhaps when he does something wrong, like maybe stepping on Crookshanks or breaking something. I mean, he's so used to being thrown in there for the smallest things, he's probably expecting it. Although, I am curious where I'm going to find a cabinet under the stairs at Hogwarts...maybe I'll just use a wardrobe of some sort.

**Are you going to have Draco teach him how to fly?** _submitted by __Black Aliss_  
That would be a cute idea! I mean, Harry obviously is a natural as Rowling makes him in Sorcerer's Stone, ne? So, maybe he can see Draco praticing and he'll want to try. The funniest thing I think would be if he actually beat Draco in a race somehow...I mean, I wouldn't put Harry on his firebolt, I doubt he could control it, but he might manage a Cleansweep...oooh, that'll be fun! Thanks for the suggestion!

**How will Draco react when Hermione's 5?** _submitted by __Harri potter luver_  
He'll probably be shocked for life. XD No, but I think he's going to get used to the idea of his girlfriend (who I plan on becoming a reality in the next ten or so chappies, I mean, I'm already kind of incoorperating the romance!) is five and he can no longer kiss...but when she's little, maybe he'll think twice about actually being her match...I mean, what if his kids ended up acting like their mother? Poor, poor Draco

**If you could have a dream happen, what would it be and why?** _submitted by __natyslacks_  
I dreamed I was a calculator a few nights ago and was super smart...but I don't think that's the one I'd want to come true. I guess the dream I would want to come true is the one where my novel that I'm currently working on (hehe, it'd be great if I got it published! Authoress at sixteen!) became a national best seller. I was invited to star on Opera (I think that idea came from the fact I had been watching an Opera episode my mom wanted me to see about this girl who was never loved, wrote a letter to Opera, and got to hang out with her for the day and got a full paid college tution and stuff...but neways) and I went back to my old hometown (W.C) and Garret, a boy I used to be friends with but we got off on the wrong foot back in fourth grade, was insanely jealous and I threw paper balls at him...and then Hiei came to life out of the manga I was holding (he's from YYH) and he took me back to Makai, but on the way we were stopped by my other fave bishounen, Soujiro (from RK) and they fought over me...and then I woke up so I never figure out who won. Kami, that would be the dream I'd pick! lol


	15. Dating My Five Year Old Boyfriend

**Disclaimer: I now am the proud owner of the I Taunt the Pant Devil avi on Neopets, but I still do not have Harry Potter. I'm hoping that I get rights to HP and my ferret for Christmas…but for some reason I can't see Rowling being that nice, can you?**

**Parenting Class**

**Dating My Five Year Old Boyfriend**

**A quick AN: I'd like to thank you all so much for your support. And you're right. I'm just going to ignore all the flames and such…with all of the wonderful comments I get, the flames are canceled, just like negative numbers with positives. The positive cancels the negative…hehe; my math is coming into play.**

**Now onto the fic!**

"We're having Ginny watch him?" exclaimed Draco, eyes widening in alarm.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Hermione, lying down more comfortably on the hospital bed and drawing the blanket up to her chin.

Draco rolled his eyes. "They're dating," he hissed, voice thankfully to soft for Harry to here, who was across the room and looking with interest at all the different colored potions lining the shelves.

"So?"

"Don't you think this could…I dunno…do something to their relationship? Not that I really care," he added hastily.

"Sure you don't," Hermione laughed. "But if anything, it should make them become closer. Besides, I trust Ginny with my life. She'll take good care of Harry."

"She wouldn't have to watch him if you hadn't hit me," Draco muttered.

"I did not hit you that hard! It was your own fault you were leaning over me."

"I was concerned," Draco defended. "You didn't have to react like that."

"Harry dumped water on me! Don't try telling me you wouldn't wake up like that."

"I wouldn't. Because I never act like that."

"Like what?"

"Like an idiot. I wouldn't dream of seeing myself so un-put together."

"I was surprised! You can't expect me to just lie there calmly when freezing cold water was dumped on me!"

"Yes I can."

"How is that even possible? It's a natural instinct to react when surprised. And when I'm sleeping and woken up by water, that would be a surprise."

"You still didn't have to push me. You broke my leg!"

"I did not break your leg! You decided to fall down the steps!"

"I did not 'decide' to fall down! I had no choice!"

"You did too! You could have climbed out of the chair."

"And risk breaking my neck?"

"You would not have broken your neck!"

"Would too! I was going really fast!"

"Oh, like three miles an hour?"

"That's fast!"

"Eighty is fast. Even fifty could be considered fast. But not three!"

"I consider it fast! And I was going backwards! That makes it worse!"

"Then it's a good think you've never been on a roller coaster. You'd probably have a heart attack."

"What's a roller coaster?"

"A really fast moving, muggle amusement park ride. And you changed the subject!"

"Did not! You mentioned roller coasters!"

"Because I was having a thought! You're the one who had to ask about them!"

"I wanted to know what it was!"

"I told you!"

By now, both teenagers were sitting up and glaring daggers at each other, blankets fisted in hands and cheeks red with anger, or in Hermione's case, anger and her fever.

"What are you two arguing about?" asked Ginny, entering the Hospital Wing. "And what are you doing here anyway?"

"She," Draco growled, pointing at Hermione, "got a fever for stupidly running outside without a cloak a few days ago. And then, she pushed me down the stairs and I now have a broken leg!"

"I did not run out stupidly! Someone had to save those poor puffskeins! And I did not break your leg! You did!"

"It's my fault you pushed me down the steps?"

"Yes! If you hadn't been so close then I wouldn't have hit you!"

"Ah hem," interrupted Ginny. "So again, why am I here?"

"Oh, yes," Hermione smiled, anger disappearing. "He," she said, pointing at the fuming Slytherin, "and I are not allowed out of here for a few hours and we need someone to watch Harry. Professor Dumbledore said it would be all right if you wanted to."

"Want to? I'd love to!" Ginny exclaimed, blue eyes twinkling with excitement. "Where is he?"

"Right there," said Hermione pointing at the shelves.

Ginny walked over and stopped a few inches from Harry, who was busy with a rag he'd found and was dusting each bottle before putting it gently back on the shelf. "What are you doing?" she asked incuriously. "You don't need to dust those. That's Madam Pomfrey's job."

"But they're dirty…and Aunt Petunia always makes me clean things that are dusty and dirty."

"You don't have to do that here."

"Yes I do," Harry insisted.

"Think of this as having a break. No cleaning, except maybe making your bed and cleaning your room for two weeks! Sound fun?"

"I guess so…"

"Good. I'm Ginny by the way," the redhead smiled, holding out her hand.

"I'm Harry," the child said, hesitantly taking Ginny's hand and giving it a small shake.

"It's nice to meet you, Harry. I'm going to be watching you for a few hours while these two rest here, okay?"

"Okay."

"Would you like to go meet Hagrid and Fang? I'm sure they'd love to get to know you."

"What's a fang?"

"It's Hagrid's dog. He's very gentle, though he does love to lick people. Come on, let's go get you your coat; it's chilly out there."

"Be good for Ginny," Hermione said. "And have fun, kay?"

Harry nodded and waved goodbye as Ginny took his hand and led him out of the room.

First, they stopped off at Harry's room (Ginny fortunately remembered the password to get in) and took the child's coat from his trunk (shrunk to fit him). Ginny picked up Harry's glasses from where they'd fallen on the floor and set them on the table.

Making sure she had her camera in her pocket, both left the cozy room to brave the outside. Though it was only September, a chilly wind already blew across the grounds, and most of the trees (save the Forbidden Forest) had already lost their leaves.

Ginny securely fastened Harry's hood on his jacket, and wrapped her own cloak more tightly about herself. "See that little cabin over there?" she asked, pointing with a gloved hand towards Hagrid's hut. "That's where we're going."

The two began their trek across the chilly yard, Harry scampering playfully over large boulders that littered their path and walking on the edge of the fountain. Minutes later, two well-frozen people stood outside the little wooden door, already chilled to the bone from the icy winds.

Thumping her head against the door (Ginny was too cold to take her hands out from beneath her cloak) both waited merely seconds before they heard the giant's familiar voice from inside, telling them to 'wait jus a moment.'

**A/N- I'm going to attempt to do Hagrid again…wish me luck!**

The door swung open and Harry and Ginny tumbled in, a wash of heat overwhelming both of them from Hagrid's fireplace. "Who is this lil guy?" asked Hagrid, bending down to get a better look at Harry.

The child's eyes lit up in recognition. "Uncle Haggy!" he cried, wrapping his arms around the scraggly beard. "Both you and Grandpa are here!"

Awkwardly, Hagrid hugged Harry back, careful not to squish him. The half giant looked at Ginny for an explanation, who only shrugged in response. Fang, not wanting to be left out of the hugging, bounded in and tackled Harry, immediately setting his tongue to leaving slobber all over the boy's face.

"Down Fang! Bad dog!" shouted Hagrid, grabbing the boarhound by his collar and yanking backwards. "Don' go attacking the guests!" Turning to Harry, he said, "I'm sorry 'Arry. Didn't know 'e would act up like that."

"It's all right," Harry said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Clear, gooey drool coated the child entirely, dripping onto the floor around him.

"Told you he liked to lick," smiled Ginny. "Why don't you take off your coat, Harry? Then you can go wash your face up in the basin on the table. Harry nodded his agreement and slithered out of his now slobbered jacket and made his way over to the bowl to get tidied up.

"What are yeh doing down here in this weather? Isn't it a mite cold for 'Arry? And where's 'Mione and Draco?"

"Hermione has a fever and Draco's out with a broken leg and some other bumps and bruises. He fell down the stairs," she smirked, noticing the puzzled expression on Hagrid's face. "From what I'm getting, Hermione had something to do with it, but they both keep blaming each other. Do you know what happened, Harry?" she queried, as the boy made his way over to the fire where Ginny and Hagrid were sitting.

"Hermione was on fire…I think. And I dumped water on her. She woke up and hit Draco…and he fell into a chair and went down the stairs."

"It's both of their faults," Ginny declared. "Although both of them will never say that…both much too stubborn."

"Would either of yeh like a cup of tea? Or hot chocolate?" Hagrid offered, rising from the floor with a groan.

"We'll both have hot chocolate, if you wouldn't mind making it," smiled Ginny. "Doesn't that sound good, Harry? Harry?" Glancing wildly around, Ginny noticed her charge had disappeared.

"Guess I'm not making it anymore," Hagrid chuckled, pointing at his table. Harry was kneeling on one of the chairs, arranging chocolate powder he'd miraculously found in the cabin into two mugs, and putting a teabag in a third for Hagrid. Jumping off the chair, the child filled a kettle full of water and placed it on the stove, which was burning merrily away in the corner.

As soon as the water began to boil, Harry picked it off the stove and pouted some into each mug, never spilling a drop. Taking a large spoon, he mixed the hot chocolate powder together and added a marshmallow to the top. Carefully balancing the tea in one hand one mug of hot chocolate, he delivered them without a word and then went back and grabbed his own mug.

"That was very nice of you Harry," Ginny said, taking a sip. "Yummy too! When I was your age getting dressed was a chore for me…and you can already make hot chocolate!"

"I can cook too."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "You're really something, Harry."

The boy simply smiled and stared into the fire, his head resting lightly on Ginny's shoulder and her arm around him. In the background, Hagrid played softly on his flute, the soothing noise lulling the child into sleep in no time at all.

* * *

"I'm bored," Draco moaned, flipping over on his side so he was facing Hermione. 

"And I'm not? Now be quiet before _she _comes back again." _She _was Madam Pomfrey. After listening to the two continue to argue about whose fault it was even after Ginny and Harry left, she'd placed a silencing charm on both of them. A few minutes before, she'd taken it off, with the warning to lie still and silent or she'd silence them _and _bind them to the bed.

"But I'm bored," Draco whined, slamming his head against his pillow. "There's gotta be something to do!"

"Try shutting up."

"That was mean."

"Good."

"You're being mean."

"Your point?"

"Gryffindors are supposed to be nice."

"When was that ever said?"

"It's assumed. Slytherins, like me, are supposed to be cunning, those Hufflepuffs are cowards, and the Ravenclaws are too smart for their own good. Gryffindors are supposed to be brave, a rather bad trait I think, and friendly."

"Well, I don't feel like being friendly right now."

"Why?"

"Because, I don't feel good and I'm cooped up in here with you?"

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"Yes."

"Did you hear that Sparkles?" Draco asked his dragon, holding it in his hands. "Hermione doesn't want to be nice."

"You just talked to a stuffed animal."

"Your point?"

"It looks very stupid. And you aren't ever to look stupid."

"I don't look stupid!"

"You do when you talk to a stuffed animal."

"Most girls think it's cute."

"They thought it was cute when you were little. Like, five."

"Didn't I say I didn't want to hear another peep from this room?" Madam Pomfrey walked in from her office, a scowl on her face.

"He started it," said Hermione, pointing a finger at Draco.

"Me?" he repeated. "I did no such thing!"

"You did too! You were whining you were bored, remember?"

"Can't say I do."

"Well, you d-" Hermione was still mouthing words when she realized she'd been put under the silencing charm. Throwing her best death glare at Draco, she turned away and flopped down on her bed, Draco doing the same.

"Now, both of you are to remain quiet and rest! Miss Granger, that fever isn't going to improve with you yelling. And Mr. Malfoy, you came close to suffering a head injury and I _do not _want you moving around too much. You will both be free to go in about two hours, but until then stay quiet!"

As soon as the nurse left, Hermione sat up and pulled out a piece of parchment from her bag. In bold, caps locks letters, she wrote, **I HATE YOU** and showed it to Draco, a frown on her face.

Draco also pulled out parchment and scribbled a message down in Hermione's same style. **I HATE YOU MORE!**

**REALLY? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GOT US IN THIS MESS!**

**HOW DID _I _GET US IN THIS? YOU PUSHED ME DOWN THE STAIRS! AND RAN AFTER THOSE BLOODY PUFFBALLS WITHOUT A CLOAK!**

Hermione put the quill to her lips for a few seconds and then scribbled down her next message. **I WAS DOING A GOOD DEED SAVING THOSE POOR PUFFSKEINS. IF I HADN'T, THEY WOULD HAVE FLOATED INTO THE FORBIDDEN FOREST AND YOU KNOW WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO THEM THERE!**

**SO? LET THE HELPLESS LITTLE THINGS DIE. IT'S HAGRID'S FAULT HE COULDN'T WATCH THEM BETTER. **

**NONE OF US WERE EXPECTING THE WIND TO BLOW THAT HARD! THE CRATES THEY WERE IN WOULD HAVE KEPT THEM SAFE IF IT WASN'T FOR THE STORM COMING!**

**STILL, YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST PUT ON A CLOAK BEFORE RUNNING OUT.**

**YOU'RE LECTURING ME LIKE MY MOTHER! STOP IT!**

**AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DON'T?**

Hermione glared at the Slytherin, before casually picking up her parchment to write an answer. Draco waited patiently on his bed. Without warning, Hermione lunged and tackled the unwary boy off of his bed. Both went down kicking and screaming silently.

Draco grabbed Hermione's hair and yanked it, attempting to get her off of him. The girl, took no notice, and continued to scratch at whatever available skin she could reach, which mostly just happened to be his face. Deciding he needed help, Draco kicked at the nightstand, watching satisfied as the glass pitcher fell off and shattered on the floor.

"What is going on out here?" barked Pomfrey from her office. Exiting, her hand went to her mouth. "ENOUGH! MISS GRANGER, STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!"

Seconds later, both were in their own beds, now incased in a full body bind and unable to move any part of their body, save their eyes. "I have had it up to here with the both of you," the mediwitch fumed, raising her hand way over her head. "You will both stay like that until Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter come back and you're allowed to be released."

Two pairs of eyes glared at the witch, and then at each other, both ticked off beyond imagine.

'_Look what that bloody Gryffindor did to my face,' _Draco moaned internally. '_I look like I was fighting with a cat! I can't show my face in public!'_

'_As soon as I'm out of this body bind, he is so going to get it,' _fumed Hermione. '_I lost some of my hair! I know Madam Pomfrey is making it grow back right now, but it still doesn't change the fact he pulled it! No one should ever pull a girl's hair. But I'll get sweet revenge when I'm little. Oh yes…he will pay.'_

'_And what will everyone say when they find out a girl did this to me? Mind them, I was surprised, but Slytherins are supposed to fight like that. Gryffindors should have to state the challenge or at least give a warning before they go tackling innocents.'_

About two hours later, both Draco and Hermione having thought up every torture idea to place on each other imaginable, Ginny walked in, a sleeping Harry in her arms. "We're back Madam Pomfrey," she called, setting the child on a bed next to Draco. "What's wrong with you two?" she asked, looking at the unmoving and silent Draco and Hermione, both of who were watching her.

"Thank goodness!" Pomfrey exclaimed. Flicking her wand, she released both teens from her spell, and both sat up, rubbing stiff limbs and stretching. "These two have been most uncooperative. They've been in the body bind for the last few hours and placed under the silencing charm."

"You guys sound like you're more trouble then the kids," smirked Ginny. "Harry was a little angel."

"I'll bet," Draco grumbled, grabbing a mirror from the nightstand and examining his face, eyes growing large as he saw the crisscrossed redlines marking him from forehead to chin. "Look at what you did to me!" he cried in alarm, gingerly touching each mark. "I look terrible!"

"Thankfully, my hair has grown back. No thanks to you," Hermione snapped, fingering the back of her head.

"What on earth have you been up too?" questioned Ginny, staring in shock from one angry face to the next.

"She started it," declared Draco at the same time Hermione said 'He started it'.

"You're both going to have to get along if you're going to take care of Harry," Ginny reminded them. "He doesn't need to see you two argue all the time."

"Speaking of Harry," said the brunette, "did he enjoy visiting Hagrid?"

"Oh yes, he loved meeting Uncle Haggy," Ginny grinned. "And Fang…sort of. That dog had him sitting in a puddle of drool." On the next bed over, Draco shuddered and wrapped his robe tighter around him to ward off any slobber he felt might be coming. "Although he did the strangest things," the girl remarked, a thoughtful look on her face.

"You mean he misbehaved?"

"Oh no! He was almost…too nice. Hagrid offered hot chocolate, and Harry made it. And when I came to collect him from here, he was cleaning the potions bottles. He said his aunt made him clean…and he told me he could cook. Is that normal?"

"He is very intelligent," mused Hermione. "At his age, I could cook a little, with my mom's help of course. But most children don't like to clean…you didn't seem to mind tidying up your room Draco, but I know when I was younger I'd throw tantrums when my parents told me to pick something up."

Draco gulped nervously. "Then I hate to see what you're going to be like when I tell you to clean."

"I suggest you don't. That is, if you don't want to get hurt."

"It's time for all of you to get going," ushered Pomfrey, wanting to have the peace and quiet back in her office. "Hurry along now." Draco jumped out of his bed, only too glad to be going. Hermione followed, picking Harry up carefully in her arms.

"I've gotta get back to the common room," Ginny said. "I have a ton of homework due tomorrow!"

"All right, bye Ginny! Thanks for watching Harry!"

"No problem. See ya guys later!" With a wave, the redhead took off down the opposite corridor, robes flying out behind her.

The 'parents' arrived back at their portrait, a stony silence between them the entire time. Leviculus seemed to know something was up, and he wisely didn't try to humor them; just opened the portrait when Hermione said the password. The girl tucked Harry into his bed and then retired to her own room, the door slamming behind her with a thud.

Draco stared sullenly at the closed entrance, before going into his own room and flopping down on his bed, Sparkles safely in hand. Rolling over, the Slytherin picked up a textbook on Charms and began to read through it, jotting down notes every few seconds.

In her room, Hermione was punching her pillow, needing to just be able to move after all those hours of lying still. Normally, she wouldn't have minded as long as she'd had a book, but Pomfrey had said reading might strain her eyes and had forbidden it.

In the room to the left of Draco's, little Harry was beginning to wake up. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes tiredly before glancing around. Eyes widening in panic, the boy literally flipped from the bed and landed in a heap on the floor. Shaking his head to clear the dots away, Harry began to carefully remake his bed, tucking the covers in at the corners and even fluffing the pillows.

After he was done with that, the tiny Gryffindor began to straighten up the books on the shelves and shake out the rugs. Venturing from his room, he made his way into the bathroom and began to clean off the counters with a wet rag and soap and then wash down the mirrors.

Moving from the bathroom, he tidied up the common room, straightening pillows on the couch and running over the woodwork of the room with a dust cloth. By the time Hermione emerged from her room after her very enlightening pounding the pillow session, the room was close to sparkling.

Draco exited at about the same time. "The house elves sure are getting better," he remarked. "Listen, Hermione," he said, turning to look at the Gryffindor. "About earlier-"

"No, let me talk first. I'm sorry, Draco. It was my fault; I really should have grabbed my coat."

"Oh good," the Slytherin smirked. "That's what I was thinking."

"You mean you weren't going to apologize?"

"Why would I? You said it was all your fault."

"You-" Hermione lunged, teeth bared.

"Shouldn't we be heading down for dinner?" asked Draco pleasantly, catching Hermione around her wrists and holding them away from his face. Doing his Charms work, he'd found a spell for concealing minor injuries, and had immediately applied it to his scratch covered face.

"You're right," Hermione agreed, still attempting to claw the grinning face. "After I maim you."

"That wouldn't be very nice…remember what Ginny said? We have to get along."

"I remember…fine, but only because of Harry," Hermione sniffed, dropping her hands and Draco released them. "I'll go see if he's still asleep."

When she peeked into the bedroom, Harry was sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chin. "Harry? Are you all right?"

"Yes…I'm fine," the child smiled.

"Are you hungry? It's dinner time…and you could definitely use some meat on your bones…you're so skinny!"

"A little hungry," Harry admitted.

"Then let's head down to the Great Hall. Come on." She held out her hand and Harry took it, pulling himself to his feet and then walking out of the room. "We're leaving Draco, come."

"What am I? A dog?" Draco grumbled, falling into step beside Hermione.

"No," she smirked. "You're a ferret."

**Author's Note:**

And a Belated Merry Christmas to everyone! I just finished typing this...right before all of my dad's side starts to arrive for the party. Since the last two chapters were quite short, this one is much longer...almost four thousand words without a/n and stuffs. n.n I

How was everyone's Christmas? I got the POTC soundtrack (listening to it right now) a karate uniform (finally! It's so embarassing being in the advance class and being the only person w/o a uniform XD) a lot of clothes (yay!) and an adorable elephant pluffie! He's so cute! And tons of other stuff that I'm too tired to name. What did everyone here get as a survey question?

As I said on the top of the chappie, thanks everyone for all of your support. It means a lot to me to see how much you all love PC. n.n And since I feel like advertising, I have a new fic up featuring D/Hr once more. Tis called Be My Eyes. It's more angsty and dramatic then this one, probably only side humor. But if you feel like reading something...that would be a good choice, I think.

As for the last survery, it appeared a lot of favorite colors were green (Go Slytherin!), red, purples, and blues! And then a few pinks n.n Go pink! XD I've been eating some of my candy and am quite in a bouncy mood.

If you're in the mood, please do leave a review! They are all very much appreciated n.n

I'd like to thank all of the reviewer's last chapter! They are:

LishaChan, the ramen ninja(oddly), ilovetom88, LiLbLueangeL1223, memommy27, sw33tdohtee, charmedsisters, Saiyachick, Ptrst, ScrewyLouie12, kat6528, wockygal, samhaincat, larkspur277, texasjeanette, Alenor, Hiscefit, BIGHARRYFAN, gtrlvr8877, kendra is cheese, BrennaM, knivesgirl346, IcEcAsTleS, citcat299, Debatingqueen, nyankochan, Rain-Pyr, Sputzo, but i didnt kill the hippo, Gertyke, morning-flower, chaotic-mind-sevi, jasper, Meg, ShadowOfMoonlight, !Matt!, raisa, sinj, CrystallineLily, ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies, Aleskris, Bronwen,Danielle, rakasha-wolf,demongirl12000, GryffindorGirl14, The Legend Keeper, akane, GirlWaterShaman, trapped-in-a-dream, GryffindorGirl14, jujyfruits7766, person, Copper Heart, anonymous, hp-lotr-potc-fan, Yokai Cesia and Chi, mir, scarlet-knight13, pinkpenguin28, Frogs Rok, Yami Shizu-Kira, Jasmine Nathalie, Pia O'Leary, rogue solus, jackyskipskip, clap him in irons(I think...), muffincrumbs, Stella Blu, enchantress cat, Nachzes Black-Rider, it wasn't me, Edarcy03, Musical-Harry-luver, cierra, feverishkx, natyslacks, HPbabe35, SUmmer, stellafiore, Miss Morg Malfoy, D/HR SHiPPER, poorpadfoot, Serena, Starlyn, Turtle, Queen of Freeks, YamiClara, Ashley, Jennybaby, Priire L. Payne, coffeentoffee, Laen, Stormy Skies,and MokubaDoll

A few quick notes...

**Rain-Pyr**- I could probably send you one more chappie...but after that I'd better just keep writing it until I finally (if ever) get it published. You're read chapter one, right? So you need two? Let me know...

**raisa**- Pink shall never go out of style XD I will make sure of that

**GirlWaterShaman**- He ish mine! MWAHAHA How bout we share? You can have him Mondays-Wednesdays. I'll take him Thrursdays-Saturdays and we'll each have him every alternate Sunday XD

**feverishkx- **what does 'ohru' mean??

**Ashley**- Tis no problem n.n You're very welcome

And now, on to the questions!

**What kind of things would we be reading if Hermione would be turned into a child?** _submitted by sw33tdohtee  
_Dangerous, scary, and horrible things. XD, just kidding. But we shall be seeing the horrors that girl can cause while 'playing'. And poor Draco and Harry's reactions and how they manage to cope with the five year old monster. Expect lots of action, trips to the hospital wing, and damage to the building.

**Will Draco grow to like Harry within the weeks that Harry is five?** _sumbitted by Yokai Cesia and Chi  
_As a little brother? Possibly. As a friend? Maybe. I mean, they were getting along all right before Harry turned little, but we can all pretty much assume Draco isn't going to be that great with kids. So far, Harry seems comfortable with him, but if Draco does anything that Harry thinks is threatining, the bond they have might break. I hope to have it so that Draco likes Harry, but sometimes what I plan never ends up happening. I was going through my closet and I found some old outlines I'd written for BOW. Harry was supposed to die in chapter 3, Neville in chapter 5. Only Draco was supposed to escape and he was only supposed to have run into Tonks. And Bill was never supposed to come into the story at all. It was all unplanned, but I think a good change.

**Is he going to call Prof. McGonagoll "Grandma" since she should have been there in the flashback also?** _submitted by chaotic-mind-sevi  
_He is going to call her something, but not Grandma. In my opinion, she doesn't look quite as old as Dumbledore, so she'll probably be 'Aunt ....' I already have a cute name picked out for her, but that will be released next chapter. I can't wait until they meet...I have such an interesting lesson planned for transfig.

**WHO is your favourite Anime bishie? Ok, perhaps you can't just choose one, but overall...who?** submitted by _CrystallineLily  
_I can't believe you asked me that! How can I only choose one?? Kami, I ish dead. I'll listsome faves and try to decide from there...let's see. Soujiro is one of them.Kawaii swordsman, invincible cept when facing Kenshin, cold-blooded murder, and so innocent (in a manner of speaking). Hiei is another...hot tempered, adorable youkai, also great with a sword (although I myself luv Aoshi's kodachis) and a deep love for his sister. Third, would be Seto. Somewhat evil CEO, but cares a lot about Mokuba, is hot ::drools::, luv the trenchcoats, and his superior attitude. Plus the fact he's rich...Tsume is another. Sometimes mean, but does apologize in the very end, dressed in leather, love the little ponytail and silver hair, and is cuddly in his wolf form (though I doubt he'd let me hug him.) Those would probably be my four faves (though I do have a lot more:Matari, Valon, Malik, Van, Kyo, and the list goes on) and I honestly can't decide who is fave. If I had to bring it down to two...I'd probably say Soujiro and Hiei. But I don't think I'll ever be able to decide between the two. The good thing bout Sou is he's taller then me, but I luv Hiei's red eyes! ::sigh:: If I ever figure it out, I shall let you know.

**Do you really only update on Sundays?/ Anyway, since it's winter break you really out to update more often. Do try, will you?** _submitted by Jasmine Nathalie  
_Yep, I really only do update on Sundays. The reasons are: A. All of my classes are advanced (AP or Honors) and they take a lot of time out of my schedule. I babysit during the week after school and of course like to hang out with my friends and go on Neopets. n.n B. I currently have ten fics (including PC) plus one on a very long hiatus and another I'm thinking about deleting. I try to update, but some haven't been updated since August and I feel terrible. C. As for the winter break question, my school board is stupid and I didn't get off until the 22nd. During those few days before Christmas, it was all out shopping, baking cookies, cleaning the house (my family is hosting two Christmas parties!), and wrapping. I didn't have time to type this until Christmas Eve and then on Christmas. XD And I probably won't be able to update again until next Sunday cuz I have another birthday party for my friends coming up, a ton of homework (I have to read Beowulf and Macbeth) and then of course recleaning the house now for the second party. lol I'm just glad I'm able to update one fic weekly. If I could do that for all my fics, life would be great, but unfortunately, my grades and family come before writing.


	16. A Few Little Accidents

**Disclaimer: A new year has come and gone, and I still do not own Harry Potter…but can anyone guess what my wish was??**

**Parenting Class**

**A Few Little Accidents**

"Now remember," Hermione cautioned as they neared the Great Hall. "Harry hasn't met anyone yet…so let's try to find someplace quiet to sit."

"I'm afraid that might be a little hard," Draco snickered, opening the wide, double doors. Inside, children were running around, parents frantically chasing them. Platters had been knocked off tables and even Dumbledore was looking slightly unnerved.

"Looks like this bunch is rowdier then last," the Slytherin commented. "So, where are we sitting? My house table or yours?"

"It might be better to sit at Gryffindor," Hermione whispered so Harry wouldn't hear. "I can't say I trust everyone at your table completely to be around Harry."

"Good point."

The three made their way across the hall to the red and gold clad table, where all they could find of Ginny were her feet sticking out over the bench. "Something wrong, Gin?" the brunette asked, seating Harry down between herself and Draco.

"Oh, there's something very wrong," she grimaced, scrambling to sit up. "Ron got turned little…and he's pulling the old trick at dinner he used to do when he was a kid."

"Which is…?"

"Poking people with forks."

"…"

"Yeah, I know. Lavender and Terry are hunting around by the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables for him. I was looking under ours, but no luck."

"That's too bad, Harry probably would have loved to meet him. Right, Harry?"

"I guess…"

Ginny laughed. "You'll like Ron, Harry. He likes to play pranks sometimes, have to thank Fred and George for that, but he's really sweet." Then, the Gryffindor girl blinked and stared at Draco. "You're sitting here."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh…nothing."

Draco glared and a lesser person would have run if mortal terror, but not Ginny. "What. Is. Wrong. With. Me. Sitting. Here?" the Slytherin ground out.

"Nothing, nothing," Ginny smiled, waving her hands in front of her face. "But now you finally get to sit where you always wanted to be. Remember when you were…when you were trying out the potion?" she corrected herself, glancing at Harry. "You specifically said you wanted to be in Gryffindor and not Slytherin because snakes are, I quote 'Snakes are yucky'."

"I never said that!" Draco defended. "I was born to be in Slytherin."

"Did too," Hermione grinned. "I think you're choosing not to remember."

While the two attempted to trick Draco into admitting he had said he'd wanted to be in Gryffindor and Harry sat quietly between his guardians, simply watching the chaos in the room, another child was creating havoc.

"Ouch! Something just poked me!" Both Ravenclaws looked beneath the table, only to see a small boy scurrying away on hands on knees, a fork in hand. Creeping up to his next victim, Ron stabbed the poor seventh year in the leg before hurrying on his way, devilish grin on his face.

'_How come no one's screaming?' _the child puzzled. _'Fred and George always made people scream when they poked them…maybe I just need a better target.'_

Crawling out from beneath the Ravenclaw table, the redhead made his way beneath the Head Table, searching out his newest victim. Bright blue eyes fell upon Dumbledore and he moved swiftly over.

But right before he poked the unsuspecting headmaster, he paused. '_Now remember,'_ he heard his mom's voice saying in his head, _'Always respect your elders. No pulling any tricks on your grandfather next time he visits, understand? It's going to take him days to wash out the pink dye you put in his beard…'_

So that meant no poking old, as in old-old, people…but then who? His eyes traveled down the length of the table, examining his possible victims. The lady at the end would be a nice target…but he didn't want to hurt her. But what about the man two chairs down from her?

Moving cautiously over, Ron was only too glad when his desired prey rose to his feet to fix some of the floating candles overhead. Acting quickly, Ron poked his fork…and it got stuck, in the poor man's butt.

"Is something wrong, Severus?" asked Dumbledore, watching as the Potions master's face turned red.

"Nothing," Snape ground out, casually removing the fork and sitting tenderly down, a grimace on his face. Hawk like eyes looked over the crowd for the person who had dared stab him. Thoughts immediately went to Harry.

But looking over at the Gryffindor table, he saw the boy, now a little child, sitting between his bickering godson and Hermione, Ginny laughing and cheering on Hermione. Deciding he'd eat dinner now and search out the child later, Snape dug into the meal that had just appeared on the plates.

Harry gasped in surprise as food suddenly materialized on the platters, the other students at Hogwarts helping themselves to the delicious looking cooking. "How…how did all of this get here?" Harry asked, as Hermione loaded up a plate for the child.

"It's magic," said Ginny. "The house elves prepared it and then sent it up to the tables."

Harry squeaked in fear and backed nervously away from the food, falling off the long bench in the process. "Did I say something?" cried Ginny in alarm.

"He doesn't like the 'm' word," Hermione explained. "His relatives didn't allow him to say it and he's frightened…which isn't a really good thing since he's at Hogwarts. Dumbledore told him it wasn't a bad thing, but I guess it still takes getting used to."

Draco leaned over the bench and picked Harry up by the back of his shirt and plopped him back on the bench. "Now eat," he ordered, pointing at the heaping plate of food.

Slowly, Harry began to eat his cherry Jell-O, slipping a biscuit into his pocket when he was certain no one was looking. He knew that Hermione and Draco were nice people, but it never hurt to have a small snack hidden away in case they locked him up in the cupboard.

Ron, meanwhile, had just arrived back at the Gryffindor table, a new fork clutched in his hand. Terry and Lavender arrived a second later, and seeing the boy, immediately rejoiced. "We found him!" cried Lavender, picking Ron up in her arms and squeezing him. "Don't you ever run off ever again! We were so worried!"

"I'm hungry," said Ron, looking at the food, mouth watering. With a sigh, Lavender put him on the seat next to Ginny and herself on the other side, now attempting to catch her breath after the frantic search.

"You look a lot like my younger sister," Ron commented to Ginny, taking a large bite of chicken. "You have the same color hair…and you both have the same freckle…" He pointed up at one of the brown dots on the side of Ginny's nose, this one oddly shaped to resembled an upside down strawberry.

"Fancy that," that Ginny nervously. It had just occurred to her, and everyone else who'd heard Ron, that he couldn't know she was his sister…"

"What's your name?" asked Ron, looking up at the girl with adoration shining in his eyes.

"I'm…Ginny," Ginny said lamely.

"That's my sister's name! You stole her name!"

"No, no," said Hermione coming to Ginny's rescue. "Your sister just has the same name as Ginny…that's all."

"Then what's your last name?"

"Umm…my last name is um…Weal!"

"It sounds like my last name…but it isn't," Ron grinned. "Okay, so you didn't steal my sister's name." Content with his conclusion, Ron went back to eating his chicken with a relish.

"Ron," said Hermione leaning around Ginny. "Would you like to meet someone your age? I'm sure you'll become very good friends."

"Okay," the child said agreeably. Jumping off the bench, he walked over to Hermione, and a very scared looking Harry. "Hi," he said pleasantly, holding out a hand to Harry, "I'm Ron."

"Harry," the black haired boy whispered, taking the offered hand and giving it a small shake.

"You don't have to be so quiet," declared Ron. "At my house, you have to yell if you want to be heard."

"I don't talk much at my house," Harry said softly.

"Well, you're going to talk a lot here!"

"I am?"

"Uh huh. To be noticed, you have to be REALLY LOUD!" Several people turned in their seats to look at the shouting child. "HI! I'M RON!"

"He's so cute," giggled a Hufflepuff.

Ron beamed and Ginny groaned, thumping her head on the table. "See? Being loud is good."

"But I don't like yelling…"

"Don't worry, you'll like yelling later. My mum is always yelling at my twin brothers…they pull a lot of pranks and make her really mad."

"Do they get punished?" Harry whispered, eyes widening. If he were to ever pull a prank on his uncle, he'd probably be locked in his cupboard for a month.

"Oh yeah. Mum made them clean their entire room and help her with dinner for the next week! It was great! Except the food tasted kinda odd…"

"That's it?"

"Yep, although they got in trouble a lot so they always were being punished. I think the funniest thing she ever made them do was wash the laundry…it ended up with Fred dyed white because George poured bleach over him. Mum says Fred was lucky he didn't get any in his eyes."

"Your family sounds really nice," Harry commented.

"Isn't everyone's?"

At that moment, Dumbledore rose in his chair and tapped his spoon against his glass. "May I have everyone's attention please?" he called, the room silencing down. "Thank you. First of all, I wish to extend a warm welcome to our new arrivals. I do hope you enjoy your stay at Hogwarts. Secondly, there was again a complication with the potion."

Students immediately looked up at the Head Table, expecting to see one of the teachers as a child. "No, nothing this time has happened to any of the staff," he chuckled. "This time, it has to deal with the other person besides the one who changed who drank the potion. It appears that somehow some of the potion was added to the grape juice. And although no one had any physical changes, they may have been acting a small bit like they're changed selves would have. The effects should have worn off about now. Thank you."

"Oh no," Draco groaned, putting his head in his arms. "Oh no, no, no…"

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione, placing a hand on Draco's forehead. "You don't feel sick."

"It isn't that…it's you."

"Me? I'm not sick. I spent the whole day in the hospital wing getting better."

"Not now…I mean later."

The Gryffindor girl raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Dumbledore said that some of the potion got into the other glass…Harry had the real potion, so you had a little of the other one."

"So?"

"When you tackled me. And when we were arguing like that…you don't act like that normally, do you? And he said that was only a small bit of what it would be like."

"Looks like you got a small dose of what kind of trouble I'll be," Hermione giggled.

"I am not letting you take that potion," Draco growled, completely serious.

"You can't stop me…it's for a grade."

"Then we'll fail. I refuse to have to live with you when you're like that. You'll probably kill me!"

"I wouldn't kill you…although I can't promise that I won't cause bodily harm. I sent my dad to the hospital once when I jumped on his stomach when he was watching television…he wasn't seriously hurt, but he was really sore for a little while."

"What's a television?"

"It's…like a box that you can watch moving pictures and it has sound."

Draco paused, and then remembered the reason he'd started this conversation. "You're still not taking it."

"I am. I think it will be rather interesting to change like that."

"But…but…"

"Look, you got a turn and now I want mine. I'm taking it, and that's final."

Draco pouted silently through the rest of dinner. The student body discovered Harry a little while later, and cameras began to flash, the child clutching to Hermione in fear. "You're scaring him," Hermione snapped, placing her hand over one of the camera lenses. "Leave him be."

With grumbles, the admirers turned away and left, Harry peeping out from behind Hermione. "Why were all those people taking my picture?" the child asked, glancing up at Hermione.

"Remember when Dumbledore told you about your parents?" Harry nodded. "Well, when the bad wizard tried to kill you, his curse didn't work and all you got was the scar on your forehead. You are the first person to ever live against the killing curse. And when you resisted it, the bad wizard fled. So you're a hero to everyone."

"Oh." A few minutes later, Harry climbed out of his seat and started going down the table, collecting all of the dirty plates.

"Why are you cleaning up?" asked Ron, watching his friend with amusement. "Mum always does that at my house."

"I always do it at my house," said Harry, his voice muffled behind the two dozen or so plates he was carrying in his arms, the stack swaying dangerously.

Hermione turned around, hand coming to her mouth. "Harry! You don't have to clear those, the house elves do it!"

Just then, the stack swayed too much to the right and with a loud crash, it came tumbling down, the sound of breaking glass the only noise in the hall for several seconds. Once it stopped, Harry stood in the middle of the mess, tears gathering in his eyes.

"Oh, Harry…" Hermione murmured, climbing off the bench and slowly approaching Harry. "It's all-" she never got to finish her sentence as the child bolted down the hall and out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Jumping to her feet, Hermione tore off down the hall after Harry, before stopping and running back to the Gryffindor table. Grabbing Draco by his ear, she yanked him off the bench and dragged him from the hall.

"All right, I'll go check down by the Charms and Transfig hall," said Hermione. "You look in the dungeons and by the DADA room." Draco nodded and took off, both worried over the child.

For Hermione, all she happened to find was a spider, Crookshanks, who had somehow gotten out of the room, and…Peeves who wouldn't let her pass. "I'm warning you, Peeves," Hermione yelled, "I will hex you if you don't move."

The poltergeist merely grinned and stuck out his tongue. "Threatening poor Peeves now, are we?" he cackled, flipping around in the air.

Hermione made a move to step forward and Peeves tossed a water balloon, bursting an inch before Hermione's feet and spraying her with water. Taking a deep breath, the girl dashed underneath the poltergeist with her arms over her head, attempting to shield herself as much as possible from the water balloon onslaught.

After a quick check down the hall, she realized Harry wasn't there, and Leviculus said he hadn't seen Harry either. Deciding to go help Draco, the Gryffindor ran for the dungeons.

Going down the stairs, the girl shivered, wondering why on earth Harry would ever want to come down here. Running down the hall at full sprint, she failed to notice Draco coming at her and both went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

Meanwhile, in another part of the dungeons, Harry was running for his life as three Slytherins chased him, shooting stunning spells off of their wands. The child wasn't certain of why he was being chased, but he knew he didn't want to get caught.

As soon as he'd dropped the plates, Harry had fled, afraid he was going to be punished. And he didn't want to be punished…Hermione and Draco and Ginny had been so nice to him…and then he went and broke all of the plates.

He hadn't looked where he was going…he just ran. And then he'd found himself completely lost down in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Hearing people talking in a hall over, the child had walked over to try to get directions. But as soon as the three Slytherins had seen him, they'd all started to chase him.

Since Harry isn't going to know why these three Slytherins are chasing him, I'd best explain. Since he was little and unable to use magic or defend himself, his chasers planned to bring him to Voldemort where Voldie could kill him and then all would be good for the Dark Lord.

Going as fast as his little legs would allow him, Harry rushed down the corridor, his pursuers getting closer with every second. Glancing behind him, Harry didn't see the suit of armor he was about to crash into…

_CCCCCRRRRRRRRAAAAASSSSSSHHHH!!!!_

Hermione, who had been lying on top of Draco for the past few seconds, the wind knocked out of her, jumped about a foot in the air when the crash sounded. "Come on," she cried, leaning over and grabbing Draco by the hand, the teenager following her slightly dazed.

While they were running towards the noise, Harry had somehow managed to get himself inside the suit of armor and had a lance in hand. Charging the Slytherins, they screamed and ran the opposite way, not wanting to be speared by the lance.

Unfortunately, the helmet that Harry had on was completely covering his eyes. He continued to run the length of the hall and then turned when he could see from the corner of the helmet a side passage.

A scream sounded in front of him and the child stopped his run, the voice sounding very familiar. "Harry…whatever you do…don't move, okay?" said Hermione, laughter bubbling up in her voice.

"What she said," Draco squeaked, voice much higher then normal. Harry felt the helmet being pulled off his head and blinked, staring up into the smiling face of Hermione. Looking forward, he saw the lance was resting just below a _very _important part of Draco's anatomy.

Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry and drew him backwards, Draco sighing in relief as the pointy weapon left the area around him. "Oh Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, hugging the child to her.

"I'm fine," he whispered. "I'm sorry about the plates…"

"Don't worry about those. Someone will clean it up. Now let's get out of this armor." Seconds later, the metal was on the floor and both were looking at Draco, who was still red in the face.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked, looking at Draco with concern.

Hermione giggled, eyes twinkling. Then, it turned into laughter and then to absolute hysterics, as she stared at Draco.

"I was just almost castrated, thank you very much," Draco grumbled, "and all she can do is laugh."

And so, that's how Ginny found them when she came looking. Harry watching Hermione with a bemused expression, Hermione rolling around the floor holding her sides, and Draco simply wearing an expression of utmost horror.

**Author's Notes:**

Gomen for the time it took me to update this today. I've been extremely busy...I found out that I lost this huge art project I've been working on for over a month so I had to redo it in a week! And I really shouldn't even be on my computer right now...tis a bit late, seeing as I have school tomorrow ::cries::

I wrote a Fruits Basket fic focused on everyone's favorite Cat, so if you're interested the link is on my profile n.n I'm really tired, so unfortunately I'm just going to leave it at this. Sorry for not answering questions...I shall probably double the amount to answer when I upload next week.

Just one quick note.

Kou Shun'u- "_A one hundred point six to be exact," the nurse said, waving her wand... _Mione's temperature is 100.6 I know that a 106 temperature probably would kill someone, or at least cause major damage to their organs.

Please do review if you're in the spirit! n.n And a happy belated New Year to all...I was almost asleep by 11 lol I haven't been feeling well...probably the reason I'm feeling so tired now...Good night everyone!


	17. Teapots in Transfig, Oh Dear

**Disclaimer: Guesseh what? Come on, guess! I'll give you multiple choices to make it easy. Guess which of the following ISN'T true. A. I'm working on my art final B. Rowling called me and gave rights to Harry Potter. C. I stabbed myself with a pencil on Friday at lunch. If you said B, absolutely correct!**

**Parenting Class**

**Teapots in Transfig, Oh Dear**

After Ginny had arrived on the rather amusing scene, Hermione began to regain control of herself, though if she even looked at Draco she'd burst into laughter once more. Ginny, after making sure Harry was all right, bid the three good night and headed back to the Gryffindor Tower.

Right now, the small family was heading back for the Charms corridor, Hermione's eyes closed and one of her hands clasped in Harry's, who was leading her through the halls. Draco was walking in front, a pink flush still tinting his cheeks from his recent encounter.

When they reached the portrait, Leviculus grinned, having heard of the tale from his monk friend who happened to be at the scene in a frame across the hall. "Good to see you still have everything intact, Draco," the jester chuckled, tears streaming down his face as his mirth bubbled over.

Hermione burst into laughter once more, falling to the ground outside the portrait, clutching her sides. Draco sniffed in disdain and muttered the password, the portrait swinging open and catching Hermione in the head, Leviculus never noticing as his frame rammed poor Hermione.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, bending down next to Hermione and helping her to sit up, the girl still laughing. Shaking his head slightly, Harry helped the Gryffindor into the room and onto the couch, before going into the bathroom and coming back with a damp rag to lay on the growing bump on the back of Hermione's head.

"Thanks," Hermione giggled, placing it on the lump. "I normally don't act like this," she said, smiling at Harry. "But just seeing Draco like that…it was priceless."

"I didn't mean to hurt him," Harry murmured, looking down at his feet.

"Don't worry, you didn't really. Only his pride has been deeply injured. Don't worry too much about it. Draco's just being a prat right now. He'll get over it."

"I don't want him to be mad at me…"

"He isn't. I think more upset with me for laughing at him. He'll just sulk into his room until tomorrow I'm guessing."

"Oh."

Hermione glanced at the clock across the room. "Look at the time! Eight already! Come on, bath time."

Obediently, Harry entered the bathroom, and a few minutes later was sitting quite content in a tub full of bubbles, Hermione scrubbing his hair with shampoo. "You have really thick hair, Harry," she commented. "Close your eyes," she instructed, dumping a bucket of water over his head.

"Is that bad?" the child asked worriedly.

"No, it isn't at all. I have really thick hair too. The difference is mine's a lot longer."

A little while later, Harry had been dressed in a pair of red and gold striped pajamas (ever a Gryffindor) and Hermione had tucked him into his bed. Currently, she was looking through his shelves for a fun book to read, and Harry was fidgeting in the bed, not quite used to being allowed.

Back home, he'd slept on a mattress on the floor with a blanket in his cupboard. Never in his own room, in a real bed. Come to think of it, he'd never eaten that much food before either or met so many friendly people. He'd been so used to Dudley having friends over and spending the time hiding in his cupboard so he wouldn't get picked on.

Here, Ron had offered to be his friend, and seemed really nice. And he'd seen other children looking at him curiously, and not in a hate sort of way. He knew there was magic here, and magic was supposed to be bad…but then how come he seemed so much happier now? Maybe not all magic was bad…some had to be good.

"Do you want to read a wizard faerie tale or a muggle one?" asked Hermione, settling herself on the bed next to Harry, two thick volumes in her arms.

"What's a muggle?" Harry questioned.

"Non-magical people. Like your aunt and uncle and what you thought you were until earlier today."

"Could you read me a wizard one?"

"Of course. Let's see here…ah, this one looks good. The Friendly Dragon. Sound good?" Harry nodded his consent and Hermione set the book on her lap so Harry could see the brightly colored pictures and began to read.

"Once upon a time, in a far away land across the sea there lived a giantess and her son in a large, stone house. No one bothered them all the way out there, and the two lived in peace. But one day, a ship appeared on the horizon carrying people to the giant's home.

The giants were ready to welcome the visitors, but instead they were told that unless they moved away, the people would kill them. So, the mother and her son packed up and moved across the mountains that surrounded their home. In there new home, they settled down and lived peacefully there with the other creatures of the mountain.

As winter set in, the mother giant grew sick and could no longer go out into the cold for firewood. Her son, Titus, offered to go instead and was soon seen every day wandering through the dense pine forests on the mountain gathering wood.

Far into the chilly days, he began to take longer and longer, the snow growing deeper and harder to walk through while his mother continued to get sicker. On his way back to the cave, one day, he fell into a large pit in the earth. Surprised, but unhurt he made to leave when he heard a voice call out.

'Wait…please, come over here,' the voice whispered from the shadows of the pit. Curious, the little giant went over. Curled up in the corner was a black dragon, its ruby red eyes the same color as the blood covering it. 'Help me,' the dragon called. 'Please help.'

The giant knew that dragons were evil and dangerous creatures. Why should he help it? But the caring, compassionate side of the giant won over and he cared for the dragon, bringing it food and cleaning its cuts. A week later, the dragon was all better and was waiting when the Titus came to visit.

'I thank you,' the dragon said, bowing his head. 'My name is Kaida and I am forever in your debt. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know. Take this,' Kaida said, handing the giant one of his scales. 'Stroke it and call my name if you are ever in need of my assistance.'

With a mighty roar, the dragon took off into the sky, disappearing into the distance. Titus went back to the cave and told his mother what the dragon had said. She merely nodded, much too sick to speak. She was not built for the mountain's coldness and needed to go back to her rock house on the other side.

The next day, Titus pulled out the scale and stroked it and said, 'Kaida.' Minutes later, the mighty beast had landed outside of the cave, great wings folded.

'You called?' he asked.

'Yes. Please Kaida, could you make the people in the little house on the other side of the mountain leave? My mother grows ill and needs to go back to her home.'

'Your request shall be granted,' Kaida said taking off into the sky as quickly as he had come. Two days passed before the dragon returned. 'Your house now awaits your arrival. Is there anything else I can do?'

'Could you take my mother back there? I don't think she can make it on her own.'

'Your request shall be granted. Help her onto my back and you climb on as well.' A little while later, both giants were back in their home, and Titus was making his mother a cup of tea over their little stove. Soon, the giantess began to get better until soon she was completely healed.

Years passed, and Titus treasured the dragon scale, never calling on the magnificent creature ever again. He was happy now and had all he needed, his loving mother. But from a distance, the dragon watched the family, thankful to know he'd been able to repay Titus for all that'd he'd done for him. The end."

"That was a nice story," Harry said softly, curled up against Hermione with his head resting in her lap. "I'm glad everyone was happy."

"Me too," Hermione whispered, kissing the boy softly on his forehead. "Time for you to get some sleep."

"Good night, Hermione," Harry yawned, curling up deeper under the covers. "But…"

"But what?" the girl asked, looking at the child with confusion.

"Is it okay for me to sleep here?"

"Where else would we have you sleep? This is your room."

"I mean in the bed."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to sleep on the floor? I can get you a sleeping bag if you want."

"But I'm allowed to sleep in the bed?"

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"Uncle Vernon won't let me…I sleep on a mattress on the floor."

Hermione regarded the child carefully, incidents of the child Draco springing up. "Does he ever hurt you?"

"No…but he does yell a lot."

Hermione breathed a small sigh of relief. "Do you get fed enough? Scratch that, of course you don't," she scolded herself. A sudden thought hit her. "If you don't sleep on a bed, do you have a bedroom?"

"No…I sleep under the stairs in a cupboard."

Hermione's face contorted with rage and Harry shrunk back in fear, afraid he'd said something to upset her.

"You're scaring him," observed Draco, leaning against the doorframe, silver eyes flicking between Harry and Hermione.

Immediately, the anger that had filled Hermione's eyes faded, though they were now filled with tears. Without warning, she launched herself at Harry and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "so sorry."

"What are you saying sorry for?" Harry asked, voice muffled against Hermione. "You didn't do anything but be nice to me."

That only made Hermione cry harder and squeeze Harry tighter. "You're going to kill him if you don't let him breathe," said Draco, still leaning against the doorframe.

"Sorry," Hermione whispered again, loosening her grip on the child. Unwrapping her arms, she re-tucked Harry into the bed and pulled the blankets up to his chin. "Sleep tight," she whispered, giving him another kiss. "Don't let the bedbugs bite."

Harry nodded and snuggled against the pillows as Hermione left, Draco closing the door softly behind her and following. "Did you hear?" she asked, settling herself down on the couch and throwing a pink and orange-checkered blanket over her lap.

"Yeah."

"I feel so bad for him. I'm supposed to be his best friend…and I never knew. I mean, I knew he didn't like living at his aunt and uncle's, but I never imagined he grew up like that."

"Who would ever have? He's the famous Harry Potter. We all thought he grew up being treated like a prince."

"I know…but still…and tomorrow we have classes…Transfig first. That really isn't a good thing…"

"Why? I thought you liked Transfiguration."

"I do…it's just that…well, Harry's scared of magic, or some of it now. He seems to be getting a little better around it…but, we morph things in there. He'll be terrified when he sees us transforming things."

"It'll be good learning experience. Maybe if he sees harmless things happening he'll feel better about it."

"Who ever knew you could be smart?"

"Was that an insult?"

"No, it was a compliment."

"But you said it like an insult."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did. "

"No, it was a compliment. Look," Hermione said, holding up her hand for silence. "Let's not get into another pointless argument. We're seventeenand shouldn't be acting like children."

"I'm only sixteen."

"Close enough. Your birthday is in June, right?"

"Yes…but how do you know?"

"Remember when you fell into the cauldron in Potions? You took in a lot of Dreamless Sleep Potion and Harry and I had to bring you to Saint Mungo's. The doctors needed information on you, and he told me, when I said I didn't know when your birthday was that it was in June…I just can't remember the day."

"It's the fifth."

"It feels good to be older," snickered Hermione, a yawn coming from her a second later.

"When's your birthday?" Draco asked.

"September ninteenth(1- See A/N at bottom). I'm a year older than Harry and a few months older then Ron.(2- See A/N at bottom)" The Gryffindor yawned again and curled up on the couch.

"Looks like you need to go to bed too."

"I'm just going to stay on the couch…too tired to go to bed."

With a sigh, Draco leaned over and scooped the girl into his arms, Hermione uttering a soft cry of surprise. Entering her room, he dumped her unceremoniously on the bed.

"You didn't have to drop me," Hermione grumbled, pulling off her robe and climbing beneath the covers, not caring she was still in her clothes.

"You can't expect me to be a perfect gentleman," Draco countered, picking up the discarded robe from the floor and hanging it on the back of Hermione's desk chair.

"You can still…be nice," the brunette murmured, eyes closing in sleep.

"That…I'll try to do," Draco promised, blowing out the candle on Hermione's nightstand. Exiting the girl's room, Draco entered his own and after changing into his pajamas, crawled beneath the covers, Sparkles tucked under his arm. "I'll really try, Sparkles," he said softly to his dragon. "I will."

* * *

At midnight, the blond woke with a jolt as thunder crashed outside, lightning flashing and illuminating the various objects in his room before a mad torrent of rain began to patter against the window. "It's just thunder," Draco whispered to himself, huddling beneath his blanket. "It can't hurt you. It can't hurt you." 

Another loud crash sounded and Draco shivered, suddenly feeling very cold and very alone. When he'd been a child, he knew Hermione would be there to comfort him…hug him and tell him everything would be all right. But he was older now…and he shouldn't be scared of such a little thing.

The Slytherin was just happy that he at least wasn't scared of the dark anymore. Actually, scratch that. Right now, he was afraid of the blackness that filled the room. As he'd grown older, his fear of the dark had faded, especially when he'd been sorted into Slytherin and was made to live in the dungeons.

But as soon as a storm started, both fears returned full force, leaving him feeling so much like he had when he was five. Most people had a reason for being afraid of something…but he didn't. All he knew was thunder scared him. Lightning, no problem. But thunder…

Normally when it stormed, Draco would place a silencing charm on his bed so no one would here his occasional shrieks of terror, and he'd stay awake the entire night, tossing and turning with no amount of sleep as the thunder continued to crash.

And he'd do that now…but it really didn't make a difference. Here, he had his own room so no one would hear him. As the lightning flashed again, followed by a large roll of thunder, Draco buried himself deeper under his covers and hugged Sparkles to him.

"Draco?" Hermione stepped into the pitch-black room, a burst of lightning making her stand out for a second. Her brown hair hung down her back, a red bathrobe pulled tight around her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the Slytherin whispered.

"You're lying," Hermione stated, sitting down on the bed next to Draco's head. "Is it the thunder?" Draco remained silent, shaking though when the storm rumbled outside. "It is," Hermione concluded. "Being scared is nothing to be ashamed of," the girl continued.

"Yes it is," Draco said softly.

"Everyone's afraid of something. Ron's terrified of spiders. You're afraid of thunder. It's all right."

Draco shook his head. "I don't even know why I am scared…it can't hurt me. It's just a loud noise…but I am."

"And someday your fear will be gone. You just have to face it."

"But I don't want to."

"Tell you what. Let's make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yes. I'm scared of heights…very scared of heights. That's why I don't like flying…it scares me. How about, if I face my fear of heights, you have to face yours of thunder."

"How?"

"Well…you could take me up on your broomstick…that'd be really two fears for me to face. And next time it storms, we'll go outside and watch the rain together." Hermione held out her hand expectantly.

Easing himself to a sitting position, Draco stared at the offered hand before lightly grabbing it and giving it a shake.

"Good, that's settled." Hermione rose to get off the bed, when Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.

"Can you stay…just for tonight?"

"Leviculus said we weren't supposed to unless we were staying with the child…"

"It's not like we're going to be doing anything," Draco grinned, before the smile faded when another rumble of thunder sounded.

"All right," Hermione agreed, climbing into the bed and slipping beneath the covers. "You're just very lucky Harry doesn't seem to need either of us right now. He is our main priority."

"I know…how is he doing?"

"Sleeping like a log. The storm doesn't seem to bother him at all….now be quiet, it's time for my beauty sleep."

"Yeah, you're going to need a lot of that." Hermione thwacked Draco upside the head. "I was just kidding," Draco laughed.

"Ha ha, very funny," Hermione snorted. "Now sleep."

Draco did so, after pulling Hermione to him like a teddy bear. The Gryffindor rolled her eyes but soon succumbed to sleep as well.

The next morning dawned bright and early, the storm having vanished overnight with sunlight now pouring through the window. "Time to get up sleepyhead," Hermione smiled, shaking Draco by his shoulder. "Come on, get up."

"Five more minutes," Draco muttered, pulling the blanket up over his head to hide from the bright light.

Smirking, Hermione grabbed the end of the thick blanket and pulled, delighting in hearing Draco shriek. "It wouldn't be so cold if you'd wear more then a pair of pants to bed," the girl said. "Now get up, we're going to breakfast in fifteen minutes."

A sudden thought occurred to the Gryffindor as she was walking into Harry's room. _'He was only half clothed! Oh God…what would have happened if Harry had walked in? Or if McGonagall stopped by for some reason?'_

"Good morning, Hermione," Harry chirped, already fully dressed with his bed made.

"Good morning, Harry," Hermione grinned. "You sure are an early bird. Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yep."

"All right then. We'll be heading down for breakfast in fifteen minutes."

"Okay."

After Hermione got dressed, she went into the common room and was quite surprised to see Harry already there, straightening the pillows on the couch and folding the blanket she'd used the night before. The child didn't notice her, as he took out a dust rag and began to run it over the bookshelves, Hermione's mouth dropping in amazement.

"Harry? Have you been cleaning the common room?"

The boy started and turned guiltily. "Yes…"

"Oh honey, you don't have to do that."

"But my aunt always makes me clean the house."

Hermione bristled in anger. Then, realizing she might frighten Harry again, forced the anger away and put on a smile. "You don't have to clean here…others do that."

"But-"

"No buts. Your not cleaning this room anymore…only your bedroom, okay?"

Harry nodded, though he was still confused. Since he could remember, he'd always cleaned up after everyone at home…and being told not to clean was like telling him magic was real…insanely wrong. But he liked Hermione…so he'd listen to her…even though what she asked him to do was very odd.

Draco exited his room a few seconds later and the three began to make their way to the Great Hall. Breakfast was, strangely, a rather calm affair. No huge accidents, explosions, or anything that could be classified under dangerous. When the three got to breakfast, they sat down and seconds later Ron and his group entered, the little redhead claiming a seat next to Harry.

After making sure Harry had eaten a filling meal, they left with Ron's group for Transfiguration. Entering the class, Hermione was looking around to see what students had been changed this time. "Oh, look," she whispered to Lavender, taking a seat in the front of the room. "Neville's little."

Indeed, the accident-prone boy was now much smaller then he'd been before, although it didn't look like the clumsiness had worn off. Already, he was apologizing to Pansy rapidly for stepping on her foot.

"May I have your attention please?" called McGonagall from the front of the room. "Thank you. Today, we will be working on transforming mice to teacups and teapots. Please come to the front of the room and select a mouse from the box."

"Stay right here," Hermione said to Harry, before she and Draco both left their seats and proceeded to grab one of the small rodents. Once everyone was seated, McGonagall began to speak.

"The spell you're about to perform isn't very hard at all as long as you pay attention. In both cases of a teapot or a teacup you must say 'yunomi jawan', accent on the first a in jawan. For a teacup, swish your want up and then sharply to the right. For a teapot, swish down, up, left, up, and then right. Bonus points on your grade if you do make a teapot. Any questions? Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Professor, I read that you can perform this spell on other animals. Is that true?"

"It is. Small birds, cats, and surprisingly humans, can all be turned into a teacup or teapot. But if I see anyone attempting to turn anyone here into one, you will be severely punished. Let's begin then. You have until the end of the hour."

Hermione looked down at her mouse, which was squeaking and running in circles on the desk. "You aren't going to hurt it, are you?" asked Harry worriedly, reaching out and petting the rodent.

"No, don't worry. They don't feel a single thing when they transform. And McGonagall always puts a charm on them so the mice still aren't thinking as teapots. Otherwise, it would be very cruel."

Beside her, Draco was muttering the words and flicking his wand at the mouse, and much to his dislike it wasn't changing.

"You're saying it wrong," scolded Hermione. "It's yun-O- Me, not yun-ah-my."

"So sorry."

After several times of practice pronunciation, Hermione was feeling confident enough to do it. Flicking her wand at the creature she cried, "Yunomi jawan!"

But as soon as the words had left her lips, she felt someone collide into her and the spell went off center, the mouse unharmed.

"I'm sorry," squeaked Neville, looking nervously up at Hermione. "I didn't mean to bump into you, honest."

"It's all right, Neville," Hermione laughed. "No harm done."

"You might want to rephrase that," said Draco, eyes wide.

Hermione followed Draco's eye path to a spot on the floor next to her desk. Sitting there was a small black teapot with a green lightning bolt design on the edges. "Don't tell me I did that…"

"You did," said Draco. "Congrats Hermione. Harry is now officially a teapot."

**Author's Notes:**

1. I've reuploaded because many people are telling me Mione's birthday is September 19th...where on earth does it say that in the books? So, fyi, I'm keeping it like that. And in my story, since I can't find proof anywhere in the books, Harry is older then Hermione by a few months, and Hermione is older then Ron and Draco. Savvy? Draco is 16, his birthday on June fifth.

2. Scratch that. Thanx a bunch to dracodolenzfor helping me to find Rowling's site. There, I discovered that you must be 11 to enter Hogwarts. So now, Hermione is 17, Harry, Ron, and Draco are all 16 though Ron will turn 16 athis given birthday, and Draco already turned 16 on June fifth. There...I think that's right now.

Yay! Chapter 17 is up! n.n So glad. It took me quite a while cuz I have a huge cramp in my neck...I think it might be from the sledding accident I was in yesterday. XD I tried to make this chapter have Harry in it for the most part, and a little bonding between Mione and Draco. I mean, I only have the two weeks Harry is a kid to work on that...but then again, the sequel is focusing on a lot of the romance part too. n.n

Oh, and a question about Ginny's eyes. I said they were blue earlier, and someone informed me they were brown. Does anyone know where they tell her eyecolor in the books? I couldn't find it so since Ron's eyes were blue I made hers blue as well. XD

Thanks to everyone for their wonderful reviews! These wonderful, extraordianary, awesome, fabulous, amazing people are:

LiLbLueangeL1223, LishaChan, Alenor, Dragon Tamer Priire, kendra is cheese, EvilDemonClownsStoleMyShoes, ilovetom88, BrennaM, wockygal, Saiyachick, kat6528, simplyme89, knivesgirl346, Bronwen, mizz-samoa, Hawaiian-Rachael, deejayD, Gertyke, Enelya Tasartir, Spicysuga, Karana Belle, Jaylia, Edarcy03, charmedsisters, Rain-Pyr, Karra, CircleOfStone, samhaincat, texasjeanette, GirlWaterShaman, Britni Puccio, scarlet-knight13, The Stump, ShadowOfMoonlight, blackrosebunny451, anonymous, raisa, EosRaven, JediPirateElfyDude, HPbabe143, paprika90, tigerlily727, Pia O'Leary!Matt, person, evildancer93, Carrie479, YamiClara, Emily Ruben, jackyskipskip, Nachzes Black-Rider, RiRiana, LoonyMoony90, Raven, Januarye, Key, Kaedae, Januarye, sphinx12, Slytherin in Mind, citcat299, Toms-babygurl, sinj, Ashley, promise18, Mistress-0f-the-dragon, elmolover614, Rinaula, Kate-Felton, Mrs. Blaise Zabini, Smileystar04, meg, D/HR SHiPPER, Musical-Harry-luver, MonkeyHotDogs, and Aleskris

For everyone who reviewed, you all get a little Harry plush doll! For this chapter, if you review, you shall get a little Ron plush doll! And I'm still working on drawing a chibi Harry...it's taking me a while but I'll get it done someday!

Notes:

Bronwen - Nope, I meant Kyo from Fruits Baskets. The adorable orange neko who really needs to get some anger management classes.

Alenor- POTC Pirates of the Caribbean XD I have major mind blanks like that too all the time.

EvilDemonClownsStoleMyShoes- I shall try as soon as I find time. XD My art final is due shortly, I'm trying out for the play at my school (wish me luck) but I shall try!

Edarcy03- I heard the funniest stories about the trip. Ben is simply hilarious. I hope you had fun though. n.n

!Matt!- Aww, you're so sweet. XD Em-chan told me that you're still calling me insane. Is this true? lol, I ish trying out for the play! If I make it, will you come see? Ja!

And now, onto the questions!

**Will she (Hermione) still be bookworkish?** _submitted by Fan-Of-HP  
_Yep, I still see her wanting to read books and learn about things. Although, she might prefer more hands on learning at her age right now...and I can't say that that is a good thing for her poor guardians.

**Is Hermione gonna be a trouble maker worse than Pansy?** _submitted by scarlet-knight13  
_I'd say, if yourate Pansy's evilness on a scale of 1-10, 10 being extremely bad, she'd be a 7. Now, take 7, multiply it by 10, add 14, subtract 6, divide by 2 and then multiply again by 4. That would be...:pulls out calculator: 164! O.o So her evilness is off the scale...so in answer to your question, Hermione will be much, much, much worse then Pansy could ever be.

**Who is the kid in Blaise/Nevile/Pansy group?** _submitted by ilovetom88  
_As seen in this chapter, the clumsy yet adorable, Neville Longbottom.

**How many chapters will Harry be 5 for?** _submitted by Matto Dee  
_Hmmm...good question. Draco waslittle for about 11 chapters. So, I'll have to give Harry about the same amount of time. So far, he's been little for most of the chapter for three, now four with this chappie. So I'm giving him about six more chapters, give or take, to be a little kid.

**Are Draco and Harry gong to be able to handle Hermione at all or will it be total disaster and I don't mean her throwing fits I mean TOTAL disaster?** _submitted by T.A.F.FY-Rox92287  
_We're looking more along the lines of TOTAL disaster. Total standing for Terror Or/and Trouble At Large. XD

**Will Harry tell Hermione and Draco about how he is treated at home?** _submitted by GirlWaterShaman  
_He's starting to open up to Hermione a bit. She knows the basics, but she doesn't know how they treat him emotionally yet, save Uncle Vernon always yelling at him. Though I can seriously seeing Hermione going on a rampage to the Dursley's when she gets the full story.

**Will Harry be more vocal and mabe another Ron by the time he has to change back?** _submitted by paprika90  
_For Hermione and Draco's sakes...I hope not. XD I can see him becoming a lot louder then he is...maybe enough to speak up when he wants something or playing with the other kids. But I honestly can't see him becoming as loud as Ron, seeing as he has a shy persona about him and doesn't mind being quiet.

**Who were the three Slytherins that were chasing lil Harry?** _submitted by person  
_I dun really know. :P I guess just three random Slytherins I threw in there who are evil with intentions to help Voldie. In my fics, I keep Blaise and Pansy good, and I can't really see Crabbe or Goyle being that smart. But Theodore Nott is a good choice...I might have him popping up later when Harry's little for a kidnap attempt.


	18. What Do You Mean There's No Cure?

**Disclaimer: The world could undergo a dramatic makeover, but no matter how dramatic, never would I own Harry Potter.**

**Parenting Class**

**What Do You Mean There's No Cure?**

"P-Professor?" stuttered Hermione, still staring in shock at the innocent looking teapot. "I…I…"

"Yes, Miss Granger?" asked McGonagall, coming to stand next to Hermione.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO!" she wailed, dropping to her knees and burying her head in her hands. "IT WAS A MISTAKE! I PROMISE! I DON'T WANT HIM TO BE A TEAPOT!"

The Transfiguration knelt down next to Hermione. "What do you mean, Miss Granger? Mr. Malfoy looks fine to me."

"It isn't me, Professor," Draco snickered. "She means Harry."

With a start, McGonagall jumped to her feet and looked astounded at the black teapot now sitting on the desk. "I didn't mean to," Hermione sobbed, looking up at the teacher, her eyes red rimmed. "It was an accident…really."

"I believe you Miss Granger, now please calm down," sighed McGonagall. "Let's see if Mr. Potter can still communicate with us." Picking up the porcelain, McGonagall turned it so she was looking at the spout. "Harry," she said, in an attempt to sound more comforting, "Can you hear me?"

A sharp whistle sounded from the teapot and the class jumped in surprise. "All right then. One whistle means yes and two means no, understand?" Harry whistled again. "Good boy," the woman smiled. "Now, don't worry. We'll get you fixed…somehow," she muttered under her breath. "Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy. Take Harry to the Hospital Wing and see what Madam Pomfrey says."

Hermione nodded tearfully and took Harry gently from McGonagall. Both exited the room a few moments later for the Hospital Wing, Hermione still wiping away tears. "Quit crying already, would you? McGonagall said we'd get him back to normal."

"I just feel so terrible," Hermione sniffled, clutching Harry to her tightly. "And poor Neville…he must be feeling even worse right now. It wasn't really his fault either…but it still kinda was."

Entering the Hospital Wing, the mediwitch groaned at seeing their arrival. "Back again already, are you? I swear, you three never manage to stay out of trouble. What is it this time?"

Hermione shakily held out Harry and the nurse took him, a puzzled expression on her face. "A teapot?"

"That's Harry," Draco clarified. "Hermione turned him into a teapot in Transfiguration and McGonagall sent us up here. Is there anything you can do? She's really starting to annoy me," he whispered, jerking his head at Hermione, who was sitting a chair in the corner and crying softly.

"This has never happened before," the nurse mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Let me look him over and if I can't find anything, then to St. Mungo's you go." Setting Harry down on one of the beds, the woman bustled over to a cabinet and began to remove various tools, before approaching Harry again. "This won't hurt a bit," she comforted the teapot.

Draco made himself comfortable next to Hermione in another chair and watched with interest as the nurse tried several different gels and lotions on the teapot, each time Harry flashing a different color before settling back into the dark sheen.

Sadly, Pomfrey shook her head. "I haven't a clue how to fix him. None of the common spells will work or the potions Professor Snape gave me. Here," she said, handing Draco the purple pass they'd taken before. "Use the fireplace in my office to go to St. Mungo's. Try to be back before dinner, but if you can't, send myself of Professor Dumbledore an owl."

Draco nodded and picked up the teapot, before herding Hermione into the medical office and picking up a small jar of floo powder from the nurse's desk. "St. Mungo's," he announced, stepping into the flames and yanking Hermione behind him. Both arrived in the floo room, all covered in soot.

"I'm all right," Hermione said meekly, as Draco made to pull her again. "I shouldn't be going to pieces like that."

Draco nodded his agreement. "There's nothing to be worried about as long as no one breaks Harry." Hermione stopped in her tracks, face turning ghastly white. "What's wrong?" the Slytherin asked.

"Don't you _dare _drop him, Draco Malfoy. If you do, I'll kill you myself."

"He's fine," Draco assured, patting the teapot. "Right, Harry?" The teapot gave a short whistle. "Don't worry," he said, turning to Hermione. "He's perfectly safe. What floor are we heading for?" he asked, looking up at the sign above the main desk.

"Floor four, I think," Hermione guessed. "That's spell damage…and if this isn't that, then I don't know what is. Come on, the faster we get this done the better."

Both walked at a rather fast pace up the steps, darting around the slower moving witches and wizards. As they were nearing the last leg of the stairs, a man rushed past Draco and accidentally collided with the blond. Muttering an apology, he continued on, though Draco was frozen in horror.

At the impact, Harry had flown from his arms and was now descending towards the very first floor. In slow motion, it gracefully arced overhead as Hermione and Draco both ran after it, though they both knew they'd never make it. Patients on the staircase dove out of the way as Hermione and Draco barreled down, chasing the flying teapot.

Ten…

It was flying over a family all with bunny ears on their heads, scampering away like rabbits as Harry's guardians dashed through them.

Nine…

The teapot hit the wings of a girl who was flying around near the ceiling, a leash around her ankle as her father desperately held on. Bouncing off the wings, it flew back towards the top of the stairs, Hermione and Draco changing direction and charging back up.

Eight…

Harry hit a mattress at the very top of the steps that two hospital workers were levitating between them down the hall. Rebounding off of the springy material, the teapot once more started its descent down the stairs, this time making it successfully beneath the winged girl.

Seven…

Hermione and Draco altered their path of travel and once more went tearing down the steps in hot pursuit as Harry continued to fly through the air, the teapot now whistling loudly in fear.

Six…

Harry hit a chandelier and flew higher in the air, thumping into the wall and beginning a vertical plummet to the floor directly beneath it. Hermione screamed as she dove off of the steps and was airborne, arms outstretched to catch Harry.

Five…

Just before Harry hit the floor, he miraculously bounced off of a woman's head, which had a large, fuzzy pink hat on, and continued down the steps, people darting out of the way so they wouldn't be hit.

Four…

Hermione slammed into the ground on the third floor landing and sat up very dazed, just in time for Draco to use her head as a springboard and launch himself into the air after the black teapot. Harry, meanwhile, was now gliding through the air, the persistent whistle still going full blast.

Three…

Hermione's face crashed into the ground as Draco successfully made it off, the girl not bothering to get up. Draco was flying through the air, his hands almost around Harry when his robe, which had been puffed out behind him, caught on the chandelier and he hung like a piñata, watching in horror as Harry continued his fatal descent.

Two…

Hermione picked her head off the ground, eyes widening in horror at the fate that was to befall Harry. Knowing she could never reach him in time, she closed her eyes tightly, Draco doing the same.

One…

Both waited for the sound of shattering glass as Harry hit the floor, though they heard nothing.

Zero.

Both fearfully opened their eyes, mouths dropping in amazement as they looked at the bottom of the stairs. A kindly, red haired woman was standing at the foot, looking quite surprised. In her arms was the cherished teapot; nestled comfortably in the pile of towels she'd been carrying.

Hermione slowly stood up, still not believing the absolute luck. Gingerly, her hand went to the back of her head, where she could already feel a large bump rising from Draco's foot. The Slytherin began to tear his robes until they ripped completely and he fell to the floor with a loud thump.

The others on the stairs continued about their business of walking up or down, as if this was ordinary. Then again, at St. Mungo's, they probably just presumed Hermione and Draco insane and left it at that. Both 'parent's made their way down to the woman, who was now looking around and trying to figure out where the teapot had come from.

"Goodness, Hermione! What happened to you?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, looking over the girl's bedraggled appearance. "Are you all right dear?"

"I've felt better," the girl admitted. "Thank you so much," she cried suddenly, hugging Mrs. Weasley tightly, but being careful so the woman wouldn't drop Harry. "I thought he was going to die!"

"Who?" the woman asked, now very confused.

"Harry! He's the teapot!"

"Harry? How did that happen?"

"I accidentally transfigured him in class," Hermione whispered, taking the teapot from Mrs. Weasley and cradling it protectively in her arms. "Madam Pomfrey sent us here to see if we could get him fixed."

"We?" the woman repeated.

"Draco and I." As if on cue, Draco made his way to stand next to Hermione, his robes ripped all the way up the right side from stomach up. "Here he is now," Hermione grinned, trying to fill the awkward silence from the group. She knew Draco had changed, but not completely. And after all of the hurtful things he'd said to and about the Weasley family couldn't be forgiven automatically.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Draco said softly, staring at his feet.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy," the red haired woman greeted.

Hermione inwardly groaned. She knew they wouldn't get along, but she didn't want them to be so…so formal with each other. Maybe over time Draco would warm up to her and Mrs. Weasley to him. That was a very vague hope though.

"We'd best get going," Hermione said, stepping into the lag in conversation. "We want to get Harry turned back as soon as possible."

"All right, dear. I'll be seeing you over the Christmas holidays this year, right?"

"That's right," the Gryffindor smiled. "See you then Mrs. Weasley!"

"You're going over to their house during break?" Draco asked as the two made their way up the steps once more, this time very cautiously.

"Yep. It'll be my first time. Harry's coming too. Where are you going for the holidays?"

"Probably back home," the Slytherin answered evasively, pausing to look over his shoulder when Hermione stopped walking.

"Back home? But…you can't."

"Why not?"

"I thought…your father…"

"I just deal with it," Draco shrugged, a sad smile on his face before he brightened. "Come on, let's get going."

"Why can't you just stay at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, falling into step next to Draco.

"My father wants to see me," he answered. "And it generally isn't a good idea to say no. But at least I get spend the summer holidays with Professor Snape, right?"

"Right," Hermione grinned, though inside she was frowning. She couldn't let him go back to his house…she'd have to think of some excuse for him to stay at the castle later…right now she needed to focus on Harry. "Hang on a sec," she said, stopping once more. "Why did you call him Professor Snape?"

"That's what I've called him for all of my years at Hogwarts," Draco smiled. "Besides, Uncle Sev sounds…childish."

"No it doesn't…it's cute. Besides, it doesn't make Snape seen like such a jerk with such an adorable name."

"Then why don't you call him Uncle Sev?"

"Do I look like I have a death wish?"

"Good point."

By now, the two had reached the small information desk on the main landing, a black haired witch sitting behind it reading a magazine. "Yeah, what do you need?" she asked, looking up as Hermione rang a little bell.

"We need to see a healer," Hermione said.

"What reason?"

"Our friend is a teapot…"

"Go into the first room on right. Someone will be with you shortly." That said, the woman went back to her magazine.

"How rude," Hermione sniffed as soon as they were in the assigned room. "You'd think they would hire people with manners."

Thankfully, before Hermione could go into a rant, the door opened and a young, female healer walked in, a smile on her face. "Hello," she said, holding out her hand, Draco and Hermione shaking it in turns, "I'm Healer Brandi. What was it that happened?"

"In our Transfiguration class, I accidentally turned our charge into a teapot," Hermione confessed. "And Madam Pomfrey sent us here since she didn't know what to do."

"I see," said Brandi. "Could I see him?"

Hermione handed Harry over, and bit her nails as Brandi looked the teapot over. "Is he able to communicate with us?" she asked, examining the lightning bolt pattern.

"Yes," answered Draco. "One whistle means yes and two means no."

"All right then," Brandi smiled. "Can I get your names and…"

About an hour later, every single paper had been signed, filled out to the best of their ability, and the teapot had been wheeled away to another room, Harry whistling in alarm as his guardians disappeared from sight. "We'll contact you both when the transformation is complete," said Brandi, shrinking the papers so they would fit a singe manila folder. "Just stay somewhere in the building."

"Let's head up to the tea room," said Draco. "We could both use a cup."

"All right," Hermione agreed, stretching after sitting in the rather uncomfortable plastic chair for so long. "I hear they have good pie too…I sure could use a piece."

Making it up one more flight of steps with no accidents, both teenagers found themselves sitting at a table with a cup of steaming hot tea in front of them a moment later, a large piece of French Silk pie rapidly being devoured by Hermione while Draco watched in amusement.

"Be careful," he warned, "or you might poke yourself."

"I'm fine," Hermione snapped, shoveling more pie in her mouth. "Just stressed…that's all," she said in a more gentle tone. "I'm just really worried about Harry…he's going to be terrified of magic now…I know it."

"Harry will be fine," Draco comforted, taking a sip of his tea. "He'll get over it…don't worry. Besides, you seem to get along well with kids…he's really taken a shine to you, ya know."

"He has?"

"And they call you the smartest witch," Draco teased. "Haven't you noticed how all of the kids like you? I mean, Pansy liked you, and that's pretty rare for that girl."

"I used to baby-sit when I was in fifth grade before I went to Hogwarts, and over the summer holidays I sometimes watch my neighbors' kids. I just like playing with them…they're all so nice."

"All of them are nice?" Draco repeated, an eyebrow raised.

"Well…they all have a sweet side. I don't know…if I hadn't found out I was a witch, I probably would've been a teacher."

"Are you going to become a professor at Hogwarts then?"

"I don't really know…McGonagall did tell me she might be retiring in a few years, so maybe…or I could work here…that'd be fun. Or maybe in a bookstore in Diagon Alley. What about you?"

"I haven't really thought about it."

Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "We're in sixth year!" she cried in alarm. "You must have some idea of what you want to do!"

"Not really. I was thinking maybe quidditch…but I'm not that great at it."

"What do you mean? You're team captain and you play seeker! And you always win every match…as long as it isn't against Gryffindor," she corrected herself.

"But that's the problem. I can never beat Harry…and if he were to join a quidditch team, then I'd automatically lose every time we played them."

"Harry wants to be an auror," Hermione grinned. "So you wouldn't have to worry about that."

"It's an encouraging thought…but I still don't want to just play, knowing someone is better then me. I want to be the best…and if Harry can always beat me, then I'm not."

"You just need more practice, that's all. Don't worry, Draco, you'll get better."

"If you say so," Draco sighed.

"I wonder what's taking them so long," murmured Hermione a few minutes later. "How hard is it to change him back?"

"I'm curious," said Draco, a thoughtful expression on his face. "McGonagall said that the spell could be used on humans…but…it's supposed to be for animal transformations."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well…what if they can't change Harry back?"

"We're visiting the library…now," said Hermione, jumping out of her chair.

"But we're not supposed to leave the building. And we aren't going to find a library in a hospital!"

"They have to have medical books on hand, right? So let's go."

Just giving Draco enough time to grab his robe (he'd taken it off and put it on the back of his chair) Hermione yanked them out of the tea shop and down all five flights of stair to the main information desk. "Excuse me," she said, "do you have any medical books I could look at for a quick moment?"

"Yes, we do in fact," the welcome witch smiled. "Go down the hall on your right and first door on your left. Everything's in there, but please don't wreck anything."

"Thank you very much," Hermione said, before dragging Draco off behind her again.

"Slow down, would you?" Draco pleaded, literally being towed behind Hermione as she sprinted, the Slytherin unable to get his feet firmly on the floor. "Fine, don't listen to me," he muttered as Hermione sped up.

Seconds later, the Gryffindor and half-conscious Slytherin arrived outside the door, and Hermione yanked Draco in before dropping him on the floor and flying over to the shelves. "In…pain…" Draco groaned, sitting up and clutching his wrist, which Hermione had all but pulled off in her rush.

"You'll live," she said, running her hands over thick medical volumes and searching for her desired book. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed a second later. "Here it is! Tea Set Charms! If it isn't here, then we'll look up the curse."

Settling herself on the floor next to Draco, Hermione riffled through the pages until she found her desire page. The passage read:

_As of the current date (September 30th) only two very unfortunate people have ever been under the Teapot Charm. This spell is supposed to be used on mice, small birds, and cats, though by accident humans are sometimes put under it. The words to transform the living creature into a teapot or teacup are 'yunomi jawan' and depending on the wrist and wand movement, you shall either be represented with a teacup or a teapot._

_In the early 1900's, a man by the name of Malory Dutroppet was placed under this spell by his wife, who was attempting to turn an infestation of mice in their home into a tea set. He lived as a teapot for sixty-four years after that, before dying at the ripe old age of one hundred and two, still as a teapot. He is currently buried at the Kensington Cemetery as a cremated teapot, the cure never having been found._

_The second person turned into a teapot is still alive today. Poor Albert Princeton was turned into a shiny, lime green teapot by a friend of his when he uttered 'yunomi jawan' instead of the spell 'yunomi jowan', which would have given Albert a cup of tea to drink. Currently, Albert is on display at the Accidental Magic Museum located in Diagon Alley._

_At the moment, there is no cure, so it is asked that this spell be treated with extreme caution. Unfortunately, many do not know that you cannot turn the teapot back into a human, and therefore continue to use it, with sometimes-disastrous results._

The book fell from Hermione's hands with a dull thud, her eyes blank. "Now we know why they're taking so long," Draco grinned, before his expression turned solemn.

"This…can't be happening…it can't…there must be some mistake…"

"Hermione," said Draco gently. "The book self updates…there is no mistake."

"There has to be!" she cried, shoulder shaking with suppressed sobs. "He's my best friend! He can't live like that forever!"

Dashing from the room, Hermione ran back to the welcome witch, the book clutched against her chest. "IS THERE REALLY NO CURE?" she screamed hysterically, slamming the book down on the desk, the page open to the Teapot Charm.

"T-that's, r-right," the nurse stuttered, quite afraid by the livid expression on Hermione's face.

"BUT THERE HAS TO BE! HARRY POTTER IS A TEAPOT!"

The lobby area, which had been very loud and noisy with all of the people inside, fell as silent as a tomb, all turning to stare at Hermione.

"Nice going," Draco muttered, coming to stand next to Hermione.

"Coming through, excuse me. Reporter for the Daily Prophet, excuse me please." A slim young woman elbowed her way through the crowd, brown hair piled up in a curly bun on top of her head. Bright, red robes matched her crimson nails, light bouncing off her jeweled spectacles and making it rather hard to look at her. "Ah, it's you," she said, looking Hermione over. "Well, no matter. Mind telling us all how the famous Harry Potter became a teapot?"

"What the hell did you just do?" hissed Draco as the people crowded in. Hermione didn't answer, she merely fell backwards into Draco's arms, the Slytherin looking down at her, concern on his face, before he glanced up, watching in horror as Rita Skeeter made her way over, teeth flashing in a smile.

Meanwhile, upstairs in a private ward, the healers were all clustered around Harry, unable to do anything and feeling terrible. "He's supposed to be our savior later from he-who-must-not-be-named," whispered Brandi. "And we haven't an idea how to cure him. What do we tell everyone?"

"It's terrible," agreed another nurse. "The poor boy. And Miss Granger said that he believes he's only five at the minute…how horrible to have to live that long knowing you're a teapot."

"Well, should I make us a cup of tea?" joked Erin, one of the younger workers. "I was just kidding," she defended, seeing the glares directed at her by her co-workers. "Sheesh, you guys are all so serious."

A knock sounded on the door and a young man entered, carrying a tray full of supplies that were to be bottled. "Oh sorry, I thought this was the storage room," he apologized. "I'll just be goooIIIIINNNNGGGGG!" he cried in alarm as he tripped over his enormously large feet, the contents on his tray flying off and landing in and around the teapot.

Instead of scolding him, the nurses rushed over to the small teapot, which was now changing dramatically. The lightning bolts were fading until only one remained and the black color changing into a peach hue. Harry was also now spitting out large amounts of green gunk from his spout, the result of the ingredients mixing inside of him.

As they watched in fascination, the teapot slowly began to lengthen and grow, until a small boy sat on the table, coughing up the disgusting looking gunk from his mouth.

"Oh my God," breathed Brandi. "He's cured." Quickly taking action, she placed a pot under Harry's mouth and began to pound him on the back to help him get the substance out of his system. "Make sure we keep a sample of this," she said, over the loud clamor the nurses were making as they took down notes. "We should bring some over to Albert."

"I'll go page Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy," Erin cried excitedly. Dashing over to the magical intercom she pressed the button.

"_Calling Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger. Calling Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger. Please report to room three hundred and eighty B right away. That's three hundred and eighty B. Your charge has been cured."_

Draco, who had been trying to revive Hermione and keep the reporters away, jumped to his feet, a large smile on his face. "Hear that?" he addressed the audience. "Harry isn't a teapot anymore." Flashing them an award-winning smile Lockhart would have been jealous of, Draco took off, carrying Hermione at a sprint.

He burst into the room a few seconds later, completely out of breath and lowered Hermione gently to the floor. "Is…he really…okay?" he panted, leaning against the doorframe.

"He'll be fine," Brandi assured from the bed. "As soon as he gets all of this green stuff out of him he'll be perfectly fine."

"I thought there wasn't a cure," murmured Hermione, coming out of her faint and staring at Brandi.

"There wasn't. We just found it," Brandi grinned. "Why don't you two come over here? Harry sure could use a familiar face at the second."

Hermione took Brandi's place, her arms wrapping around Harry as he spat out the green goop and Draco sat at the foot of the bed, both waiting for Harry to finish. When Harry was all emptied out, Hermione handed him a towel to clean his face off and a cup of water.

As soon as he'd used both, Harry began to cry softly, the events simply catching up. Hermione pulled him into an embrace, burying her face in his hair. "I'm so sorry, Harry…so sorry."

Harry simply nodded his head before pressing it into Hermione's robes. Draco watched the duo, never having been the hugging and comforting sort of person. "One thing," Harry whispered after a few minutes, picking his tear streaked face up.

"Anything," Hermione agreed.

"Can we not have tea for a while?"

Hermione grinned. "You got it!"

**Author's Notes:**

**1/18/05- Reuploaded since some people didn't get their alerts and I fixed some spellingerrors!**

God, I feel like the living dead. In a good sort of way though. XD If anyone was curious, I did make the play! n.n Although, that does mean it'll be harder for me to update weekly with all of the practices and stuff. Lucky for you all, I've decided not to go out for badminton...last year's episode with my wrist has given me nightmares. XD

I actually didn't even think I would get this chapter up...I made myself do it. I'm dead tired and almost fell asleep driving today to go get my scanner. :P So, unfortunatley, I'm just going to skip over questions and such. Very sorry.

Also, on my profile page, I have a few things I'd luv if you'd look at. One is a link to a picuture of my elephante in the BC. It's kinda crappy, but now that I have a scanner you can expect to see a lot better pics shortly. If you'd be so kind as to leave a vote, I'd be eternally grateful.

I also have a pic of Hermione and Draco I drew...if you'd rate it that would be awesome! It had a rating of 10/10 with 6 people, but then someone rated it a one and it dropped considerabley. T.T

Last thing up, is I have a picture of myself and my twin, in case anyone is curious. I'm the one on the left in the pink poncho, with the tags still on since I just tried it on, and which for some reason is crooked. XP I'm going to try and get one of my dog up too later

Please do review, they're ubberly appreciated. I'm off to go practice my flute and then take a nice long nap. Ja ne!


	19. Sock Puppets and Cinnamon Rolls

**Disclaimer: I own my horrible Algebra II Honors final grade that should soon be arriving, but I don't own the magnificent Harry Potter. Do you think Rowling might like to do a switch?**

**Parenting Class**

**Sock Puppets and Cinnamon Rolls**

"We should probably get going back," Draco said, breaking up the comfortable silence that had been in the hospital room. "It's probably lunch time about now…"

"Yes, you're right. And you'd probably like something to eat, wouldn't you Harry? Maybe not," Hermione corrected herself, seeing the way the child was still holding his stomach. "But we still head back anyway. I'm quite hungry."

"You just ate an entire pie by yourself," Draco pointed out.

"So? I'm hungry now. That pie was already consumed by my nervousness and anxiety."

"How can you eat that much? Don't you worry about getting fat?" Draco looked down at his lean form and gave himself a hug, as if assuring his stomach he'd never feed it the enormous amounts of food Hermione fed hers.

Hermione flared. "Are you saying that I'm fat, Draco Malfoy?"

"I didn't say that. I said, aren't you worried you're going to get fat if you keep eating that much?"

"No. Because I have a high metabolism and it all burns off rather quickly. And besides, after having someone you know for a friend, I've developed some of his family's eating habits." Draco knew exactly whom she was talking about. After all, how could anyone not know about the Weasley appetite?

The Slytherin sighed and rose to his feet, stretching out his stiff limbs. "Let's get going. I could use a bite too."

Hermione followed Draco off the bed, Harry tucked in her arms. "Thank you for your help," Hermione said, smiling at Brandi. The woman gave them a nod and a smile, and then turned back to the reporters who had flooded the hallway, all wanting to interview her and the young healer who had accidentally found the cure.

The small group made their way carefully to the Floo Room, covering Harry up so they wouldn't be stopped by anyone that had heard Hermione's loud announcement. Arriving safely in the Hospital Wing, they were surprised to hear screaming from the lower level of the castle. Very loud screams.

"That's funny," said Draco, as he causally descended down. "I never knew any of the kids were that bad." Hermione, on the other hand, sprinted down the steps, grabbing Draco by his shirtsleeve and yanking him along with her, frantic with worry.

Reaching the main level of the castle, they saw students running from the Great Hall; most so covered in soot you couldn't make out anything except their eyes. Darting around the students, Hermione moved to the Great Hall, mouth dropping at the spectacle.

The House banners that adorned the walls had flames leaping up the carefully stitched material, melting the small jewels embedded in the eyes. Fire was spreading quickly across the tables, tablecloths going up in an orange and red blaze, the gold and silver plates slowly pooling in a puddle.

Food was turning charcoal black before disintegrating from the hot waves of heat. Already, the inferno was racing along the wood floor, pieces missing and creating dangerously gaping holes. Through the smoky haze, they could make out students making their way to different exit doors, some crying with wails loud overhead.

"Now that's a fire," Draco commented, pulling Hermione and Harry backwards as a piece of burning timber fell in front of them, sparks showering the floor.

"We have to help!" the Gryffindor cried, already pulling out her wand and setting Harry down on the floor next to her, the boy completely terrified and clinging to her leg. "INUNDANTIA CONSISTO AQUA," she cried, a large roar sounding from her wand. A split second later, water came gushing out and swept in a torrent into the Great Hall, washing over tables and the burning floor, the fire hissing in protest.

"Where are the teachers?" Draco wondered, watching with interest as the water quelled the blaze, black smoke now rising high in the air all the way up to the ceiling.

"I…I…don't know," Hermione whispered, staring in shock at her wand.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked, turning to look at the girl.

"How did I…do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"The spell…it means flood made of water…but whenever I used it before, which was only once," she clarified, seeing Draco's eyes widen, "I only got a small amount of water…like enough to water a plant. I've never been able to do that much before."

"I think I might have a good idea why that happened, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore, sloshing through the Great Hall towards them, his once periwinkle robes now black and sopping wet. "But first, let me take a headcount of the students to make sure everyone made it out safely."

"Excuse me, Professor?" said another soot-covered figure, coming to stand next to Hermione.

"Yes, Miss Weal?" The staff had been alerted of the complication of a sibling that attended the school with her 'kid' brother, and all had agreed to call Ginny by the last name she'd given herself earlier.

"I was just curious…how did the fire start? And how come none of the teachers were there? You all seemed to vanish from the hall."

"Everything will be explained later, Miss Weal. For now, why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll mark you down." A gigantic scroll appeared in midair in front of the elderly man, and he checked of Ginny's name, and then Hermione, Draco, and Harry's.

"So you're back to normal?" asked Ginny as she set off down the hall with the threesome.

"Yep, although there wasn't a cure at first…it was found while we were there."

"Wow…that's a stroke of luck."

"What exactly happened back there?" asked Draco, looking over the bunches of students making their way to their rooms, all almost solid black and quite a number soaked.

"I'm not really sure," the redhead admitted. "All I know is a fire started over by the Slytherin table…and then it just spread everywhere. I think everyone got out though…which is good. I'll see you guys later…I have to get a new set of robes!"

"See ya," Hermione called after the retreating girl. "Let's head up to our own room…I can make us lunch and we can all get changed."

"You, cook?" scoffed Draco as the group started down the Charms hall. "That's hard to believe."

"I can too cook. Although you probably can't," she said slyly, smirking at Draco over her shoulder. "After all, you had house elves at your beck and call…you couldn't cook if your life depended on it."

"Then let's have a baking contest," Draco challenged. "We'll each make something, but it has to be the same."

"I'll take you up on that. We'll head down to the kitchens after we all get freshened up." Turning to the boy on her hip, Hermione said, "Does that sound good to you, Harry? You can meet all of the house elves…they're very friendly."

"All right," Harry said uncertainly. Neither parent could really blame him…after the teapot experience; he had to be even more frightened of magic then ever. As soon as they were approaching the portrait into their room, Harry suddenly jumped in Hermione's arms. "I forgot to say hello!" he gasped, emerald eyes widening in horror. "She must think I hate her!"

"Who?" Hermione and Draco chorused.

"Aunt Minnie! I forgot to say hello!"

Both stood in silent contemplation before Hermione realized whom it was. "Don't worry," she comforted. "Professor McGonagall should be at dinner tonight. You can go say hi then, kay?"

"All right," Harry agreed. He settled calmly down as the group entered the room, Leviculus letting them through without a fuss, his nose wrinkling when he saw the large amounts of soot and instructed for them all to take a bath.

"Okay, here's how we'll do this," said Hermione as they entered the common room. "Harry, I'll give you a bath first, and then Draco, you go. I'll go last, sound good?"

"Why can't I go first?" Draco whined, shaking soot out of his stunning blond hair. "I hate feeling dirty."

"Pretend it's mud from the Quidditch field. Harry gets his bath first." Leaving Draco standing in the middle of the room, Hermione marched into the bathroom, door resounding with a thud behind her.

"Pretend it's mud," he muttered to himself, conjuring a towel and throwing it on the couch before sitting down. "Soot isn't anything like mud. Mud washes out easily. Soot doesn't. Isn't she being mean, Sparkles?" he asked, pulling the dragon out of the robe he'd been carrying around since the incident at St. Mungo's. The plush toy looked innocently at him, glitter sparkling in the light. "That's what I thought you'd say," Draco sighed. "I guess since you were made by Gryffindors, you kind of act like one don't you? Wait…don't answer that."

As soon as Hermione and Harry emerged from the bathroom, the child in a fresh set of clothes with his hair neatly combed (though it didn't look like that), Draco all but fled for the shower. After undressing and wrapping a towel about himself, he glanced in the mirror over the sink, his jaw dropping in horror. Was that really him?

Moving a hand in a slow wave, the mirror copied. Every single movement he did, the mirror copied perfectly. By then, Draco had come to the conclusion he was the person in the mirror. And he did the thing that seemed most appropriate at the time. He screamed.

Immediately, the door flew open, Hermione's face frantic with worry. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking around for anything that might have upset the Slytherin.

"Look at me," he said, pointing at his reflection in the mirror. "I look terrible! I can't believe I was walking around like this."

Hermione did look, before a blush filled her cheeks and she opted to look at the floor. "It's just a little soot," she murmured, edging for the door, her eyes still fixed firmly on the tile. "It'll wash out."

As soon as she was safely out of the bathroom, Hermione exhaled, closing her eyes and slumping against the door. _'Bad Hermione! Always knock! Always!' _Shaking her head, she attempted to chase the image away. "I can't believe myself sometimes," she groaned, falling to the floor. "All he had on was a towel…what if it had slipped or something? God, I have to knock next time!"

Still feeling completely ashamed of herself for not knocking, Hermione went into her room to get out a new set of clothes, though Draco was still floating around in her mind. "Get a grip," she argued to herself. "Make the image go away." She had to admit…it wasn't a bad image, in fact a rather good image…but she still didn't have any right to have it firmly implanted in her head.

Harry, who had been in his room, came into Hermione's when he heard loud banging sounds. "What are you doing?" he asked, watching as Hermione continued to hit herself on the head with a rather large History of Magic textbook.

"Getting rid of a memory," she answered, slamming it down one last time. "That worked," she muttered, clambering to her feet and immediately falling sideways, before catching herself on her desk. "Now all I see are eight Harry Potter's in my room. "Which one of you is real?"

"Me," said Harry, raising his hand.

"You can't all be Harry," Hermione said, still seeing multiple images from her vicious method of forgetting. "Which one of you is really Harry?"

"I think you need to lie down," Harry advised, guiding Hermione over to her bed.

"Thanks," she smiled, placing a hand over her eyes to block out the multiple images. "Guess I hit myself a little too much…maybe next time I'll use a lighter book."

"Why were you hitting yourself?"

"No reason."

Harry looked at her strangely, but shrugged, thinking it was a normal thing for Hermione. Both sat (well, Hermione was lying down) in silence for a little while, both simply listening to the absolute silence. "Harry," the girl said, sitting slowly up. "Do you know what time your bath ended?"

"Twelve thirty-six."

The Gryffindor glanced at the clock on her nightstand. "He's been in the shower for over half an hour!" she shrieked. Jumping up from the bed, Hermione ran for the bathroom and threw the door open, just in time to run smack into Draco.

Fortunately for Hermione's sake, this time he was fully clothed in a pair of black jeans and a skintight emerald green tee shirt, and was toweling his hair dry as he exited. "Yes?" he asked, raising any eyebrow, at seeing the girl blush.

'_He smells like evergreen…such a nice scent…' _Shaking her head quickly, Hermione looked up at him, eyes narrowed. "You've been in the shower for almost forty minutes! What did you need that long for?"

"I had to get all of the soot off me…and the smell," he said wrinkling his nose. "I hate smelling like smoke."

"There had better be warm water left."

Draco grinned. "There should be."

With a snort, Hermione ducked around Draco, clothes in hand and entered into a cloud of steam. "Sure there's hot water left," she grumbled, feeling her way over to the shower. "No one uses this much hot water…if Hogwarts had smoke alarms, he definitely would have set them off."

Putting her clothes on the toilet seat and tossing her dirty ones on the floor, Hermione climbed in the shower and gave a grateful sigh as warm water spouted over her. Seconds later though, those moments of contentment turned to ones of horror.

Draco, who had been sitting in the common room with Harry, winced as an explosion thundered through the closed bathroom door. "DRACO WHATEVER YOUR MIDDLE NAME IS MALFOY!!!!! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!"

Seconds later, Harry had maneuvered himself to the opposite side of the room from Draco, and Hermione burst out of the bathroom, a deep crimson towel wrapped around herself and tucked snugly at the top and a wand in hand, pointed very threateningly at Draco.

"Yes?" he said meekly, his calm, silver eyes meeting the burning brown. But then, a bad move for Draco, his eyes traveled from the enraged face down the length of Hermione's body, a smile tugging at his face. That smile though, quickly vanished as Hermione reached forward and slapped him, the sound ringing in the silent room.

"You used all the hot water," she said, voice scarily composed, "and what you just did was very unnecessary. Especially with Harry in the room." Harry looked at the girl confused, not quite understanding what Draco had done, except use all the hot water.

"I can see what you said about your metabolism was true. You have a very nice fig-" Another slap shut the grinning Slytherin up, his hand going to his cheek to cover the large red spot from repeated abuse.

"Not another word from you," she hissed, her face now inches away from his, one of her hands gripping her towel protectively. "If I hear one more word, I won't hesitate to transform you into a ferret…and we both know how much it suits you."

With that said, Hermione stalked into the bathroom, the door slamming behind her. "What exactly did you do?" asked Harry timidly, peeping around the corner of the couch.

"I honestly don't know."

When Hermione exited a few minutes later, this time fully clothed in a pair of dark denim jeans and a red long sleeved shirt with a golden yarn poncho thrown over, she purposely ignored Draco and walked over to Harry. "Ready to go meet the house elves, Harry?"

"They are nice…right?"

"Very nice. You'll love them."

"Okay then."

"Great!" Picking Harry up and settling him on her hip, Hermione exited the room, Draco trailing behind.

When they reached the painting of the silver fruit bowl, Hermione tickled the pear and entered the kitchen, Draco cautiously traveling behind. He know knew Dobby worked here and being tackled wasn't on his priority list.

"Master Draco!" A green blob detached itself from the other elves and rushed over to the Slytherin, throwing his arms around Draco in a hug and knocking them both to the ground. "Dobby is so happy to see you again!"

"You shouldn't be happy to see him," remarked Hermione dryly.

"Hermione Granger!" Dobby squealed, throwing himself at the Gryffindor, his skinny arms wrapping tightly around her legs. Looking up, the house elf caught sight of the child "Harry Potter," he gasped, goggly eyes growing larger. Jumping up and down, he attempted to hug Harry, the child laughing as Dobby was finally able to pluck him from Hermione, and he was then squeezed like a teddy bear.

"Is your name Dobby?" Harry asked when the creature released him.

"Yes, Dobby's name is Dobby, Harry Potter." Then, remembering, what Hermione had said earlier, he turned to look at the Gryffindor. "Why should Dobby not be happy to see Master Draco, Hermione Granger?"

"Because, he was very rude to me earlier," she sniffed.

"Master Draco was rude to Hermione Granger?" The house elf shot a glare at Draco who gave a weak grin back from the floor. "What did Master Draco do?"

"I was in a towel." That was all Hermione needed to say for Dobby to understand. A grin lit up his face, an odd mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

"Bad, Master Draco," the elf scolded, approaching the Slytherin. "It looks like Master Draco needs a spanking."

"No really, I don't," Draco protested, trying to scramble to his feet but finding himself pinned down by Dobby's magic. "I order you to let me go right now," the blond demanded, struggling to sit up.

"I don't have to listen to Master Draco," Dobby smirked. "But Dobby can still punish Master Draco for being rude to Hermione Granger." Settling himself down on Draco's back, Dobby conjured a wooden paddle, and yanked down Draco's pants, so his adorable snitch covered boxers were in plain sight. "How many whacks, Hermione Granger?" the elf asked, readying his paddle.

"As many as you'd like Dobby," Hermione grinned, pulling her camera out of her pocket. "Smile for the camera, Draco," she laughed.

As Dobby gave Draco a well round of spankings, Hermione's camera flashed, her evil cackling sounding amongst the sounds of the paddle and Harry's soft laughter. By the time Dobby released Draco from his magic, the Slytherin was bright red, something Hermione had never seen before.

"Is someone embarrassed?" she snickered, Draco simply glowering at her. "Well, let's get to that baking contest, shall we?" she smiled cheerfully.

"Let's," Draco growled, rubbing his sore behind and glaring daggers at Dobby, the house elf merely smiling innocently back. "What are the rules?"

"One, no magic. None at all. Two, we'll each make an item. I'd personally like to make cinnamon rolls…if that's okay with you."

"Cinnamon rolls? Fine."

"Harry, do you want to stay with Dobby while we bake?"

"Could I really?"

"Yay!" Dobby cheered, pulling Harry into a tight hug. "Harry Potter wishes to stay with Dobby! Come Harry Potter! Dobby shall show you the kitchens!"

"Wait one sec, Dobby!" Hermione called. "Where do you keep ingredients? And can Draco and I use one of the stoves over there?"

"Yes, Master Draco and Hermione Granger may use the stoves. All of the cold ingredients are in the white room over there," the elf said, pointing to a refrigerated room, "and all of the dry ingredients are in the cabinets over there."

"Thanks!" Dobby smiled and nodded, before dragging Harry off in a random direction into a cluster of other elves.

"Let's see," mused Hermione, setting herself up on one side of the stove. "I'll need flour and yeast…butter and cream…sugar? No, brown sugar…salt, a few eggs…oh! And cinnamon of course! And the powered sugar for the glaze." Her ingredients decided, Hermione began to scour the kitchen.

Draco stood pondering on his side of the stove. "Cinnamon rolls are brown…so I'll probably need brown sugar. And molasses…that's brown. And cinnamon, ginger, and allspice…and water to hold them together…but Ill need lots of brown sugar so they don't fall apart. And then that glaze stuff for the top." His ingredients chosen, he went in search as well.

"And this is Dobby's sock collection!" the elf squealed, dragging out a gigantic trunk from under a counter. "Lookie!" Harry peered in fascination in the trunk, his face breaking into a delighted grin.

"Can we make sock puppets?" he squealed.

"What is a sock puppet?"

"They're puppets," Harry explained. "You decorate a sock with buttons and yarn and other stuff to make a face. Then, you stick your hand in it and make it talk."

Dobby jumped up and down. "Yes, yes! Dobby and Harry Potter will make sock puppets! Dobby will go get supplies. Harry Potter, please pick out the socks."

"Okay, Dobby," Harry grinned, already digging into the mass pile of socks. Finally, the boy picked out several of his favorites. These included: a blue sock with lime green polka dots, a pink sock with orange zigzags, a plain black sock, a yellow sock with a patchwork quilt pattern in red and orange covering it, and a dark green sock with lace on the cuff.

"Those are good choices, Harry Potter," said Dobby, arriving a second later with a large box in his hands. Dumping the contents on the floor, Harry's eyes widened in amazement.

Among the items, were packets of glitter, pieces of dried pasta, those stick on googly eyes, pipe cleaners, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, sequins, beads, ribbon, pieces of felt, glue, yarn, and many other things.

With a vigor, both set to work, Harry taking the polka dotted sock and Dobby grabbing the sock with the zigzags. "What are you going to call yours?" Harry asked, carefully gluing on pipe cleaner for an antenna.

"You mean Dobby gets to name Dobby's sock puppet?" Harry nodded. "I shall name mine…Pokey!" the elf decided, clutching his desired sock to him. "And he's going to be the most beautiful sock puppet ever! What are you going to name your sock puppet, Harry Potter?"

"I think I'll name mine Buggy."

"That is a wonderful name, Harry Potter!"

While the two of them worked peacefully together on their sock puppets, it was war on the other side of the kitchen.

Feverishly, Hermione stirred her batter with her left hand, while with her right she mixed the filling for the inside of the cinnamon roll. On the others side of the stove, Draco was calmly molding his finished dough into the shape of a cinnamon roll and placing them on a greased cookie sheet, humming merrily.

'_How is he going so fast?' _Hermione asked herself, now stirring so hard bits of her mixture were soaring out of the bowl and splattering her face. _'I have to catch up! Faster Hermione, faster!'_

Still humming softly under his breath, Draco placed his dessert on the top rack of the oven and set the timer for twenty minutes, before going back and making his glaze. As soon as Hermione finished her batter, she threw a towel over it and waited for the yeast to activate, still wondering how Draco had gone so fast.

"Are you using magic?" she queried suspiciously, looking carefully at Draco for his wand.

"Nope," he smirked. "Are you?"

"No…but is it all right if I use it to speed up the rising process? It won't change anything," she assured. "But it should sit for twenty-four hours and I really don't want to wait that long."

"Then go ahead." Hermione smiled her thanks and cast the quick spell, her dough now rising quite rapidly, the flipping spread neatly inside. Rolling them into a circular shape, Hermione placed her cinnamon rolls on a greased cookie sheet and set them in the over below Draco's.

Both impatiently waited for them to finish baking, Hermione immersing herself in a cooking book and Draco simply drumming his fingers on the counter.

When the buzzer dinged and they both pulled them out, they were met with a surprise. Draco's looked like they'd been made by a world famous chef, while Hermione's looked like molded play-doh a two-year old did. "We can certainly see who the real cook here is," smirked Draco, watching Hermione's face fall.

"It's taste that counts," she retorted, decorating her rolls with glaze. '_I must not have molded them right,' _she inwardly groaned. _'That was stupid Hermione. Slow down next time.' _

"Should we go have Harry sample them?" Draco asked, placing his cooled cinnamon rolls in a container he'd retrieved.

"Let's." Hermione placed hers in a separate container, and both went in search of their charge. After a few minutes of hunting, they found Dobby and Harry in a corner of the kitchen, 'talking' with their sock puppets. "Aww, those are so cute," Hermione exclaimed.

"Thanks," Harry grinned.

"Thank you, Hermione Granger. Dobby is glad you like Dobby's sock puppet."

"Harry, is your stomach feeling better to sample our cinnamon rolls? We need to know who did better. Dobby, would you like to try them too?"

"Dobby would love too!" The elf took two of the treats from each platter and handed one of each to Harry. Both bakers watched in anticipation as Dobby and Harry both took a small bite from Hermione's. Smiles lit up both faces and Hermione smirked at Draco.

Then, they both took a bite of Draco's. But instead of smiling, both turned slightly green, and Dobby conjured two trashcans in front of them, into which they spat out the cinnamon roll.

"Master Draco! That was disgusting," choked out Dobby, grabbing a glass of water another elf ran over for both testers. "No more cooking for you! Ever!"

"I win," Hermione cheered, now sampling her own cooking. Draco took a bite of his own treat, and also turned a slight shade of green. "Next time, try tasting the batter before you cook them," Hermione advised, patting Draco on his head. "Come on, we'd better get back to our room. I want to get some homework done before dinner."

With waves and hugs goodbye to Dobby (Draco once more being tackled and threatened that if he ever did anything rude to Hermione, he'd be spanked again), the threesome left, sock puppet firmly in place on Harry's arm.

As they were going up the staircase, Ginny collided excitedly with Hermione. "Guess what?"

"What?" Hermione asked, grabbing onto Draco to regain her balance.

"I know who started the fire!"

**Author's Notes:**

Any guesses as to who started the fire? I will tell you, it wasn't an arsonist, simply an accident. As most can probably tell, I'm working a bit more into developing a gradual relationship between Draco and Hermione. Though the real part probably won't be that big until the sequel...

I had quite a bit of fun with Dobby this chapter...who ever knew that elf had a semi-evil side? And I luv making sock puppets! I know, I'm a bit old for them, but when I went down to Navy Pier with my friends, they had to drag me away from the 'little kids' art corner'...they were making sock puppets and I really badly wanted to do one. :P

I've recently become addicted to coloring lineart XD If you'd like me to color any for you, just send me the link to the picture. If you want to see samples, you can check out Gaia under the 'picture post' forum and 'lineart' and look for my name. I also have some on my elephante's petpage on Neopets.

Speaking of which, the good pic I promised for this week is up along with my tuskaninny, who is also entered. Votes are happily accepted! All links are on my profile page. n.n

Oh! And I have some AWESOME news for **Black is Our World** fans! Some WONDERFUL person nominated it for an award at Dangerous Liasions, A Draco/Hermione Fanfiction Award site! I'm so excited! When voting starts, maybe spare a vote for me? ::winks::

Now, to thank all of you wonderful people, since I haven't been doing it lately. Thanx to:

LishaChan, finally-defeated, charmedsisters, jackyskipskip, HPbabe143, Bronwen, Britni Puccio, Musical-Harry-luver, ilovetom88, Saiyachick, Meg, ananymous, nightmistrie, RiRiana, dan-lovr, mir, kat6528, kendra is cheese, EvilDemonClownsStoleMyShoes, katherose, draco's gurl, SeleneA, scarlet-knight13, ShadowOfMoonlight, blackrosebunny451, Alenor, Anne, The Stump, YamiClara, CP, tigerlily727, LiLbLueangeL1223, Rinaula, Debatingqueen, why should I be named?, deejayD, CircleOfStone, Machina Al Bhed Chick, Crookshanks4321, MiSSxMELON, D/HR SHiPPER, CaliGirl0104, GirlWaterShaman, !Matt!, Smileystar04, Januarye, BrennaM, meg, Artemis, DSMelody, knivesgirl346, Mrs. Blaise Zabini, Angelic Night Goddess, Aeriel Ravenna, FiReFaIrY14, crazy azn angel, Rain-Pyr, Hawaiian-Rachael, Vampirate, Stupid Man Suit, Enelya Tasartir, Leira925, Danny Frank, sakura1221,

**Is their going to be any Voldermort in the story?** _submitted by charmedsisters  
_Probably...but not really. Sort of? He won't physically be in the story, but he is going to 'visit' Harry later through his dreams. But he won't attempt a kidnap attempt on him or anything...he'll just try to kill him through the dream...you'll see. But dun worry, Mione and Draco save him.

**What was the cure?** _submitted by draco's gurl  
_The cure was whatever landed in teapot!Harry. For all we know it could have been frog swamp and newt eyes. We'll probably find out exactly went into that mixture though in a chapter or so.

**What will Harry be like if he's converted back into an elder version .. like back to his normal age?**_ submitted by LiLbLueangeL1223  
_For one, I now see him deathly afraid of tea. And of Hermione performing magic with him in range of her wand. As for the more serious side, I kind of see him a bit more closed off at first, since they now know why he doesn't like living at his uncle's house.

**How many more chapters for Harry?** _submitted by sakura1221  
_Hmmm...I'm estimating five or seven more chapters. I might have to throw in an extra because Britni Pucciothreatened to hex me since Harry was a teapot for an entire chapter. And I would really rather not get hexed. XD

**Are the Harry chapters really going to be as long as Draco's?** _submitted by Crookshanks4321  
_Do you mean as in the length of each chapter or the number of chapters? The length all really depends on how I'm feeling while I'm writing, or what kind of idea I want to pull off. So they'll vary for each character. If you mean number of chapters, they'll be around Draco's number, though maybe one longer or one shorter. It all kind of depends on how soon I run out of juice for Harry. But little Hermione has many many chapters...I already have several 'fun things' for her to do. ::evil laughter::


	20. Potions Equal Trouble

**Disclaimer: As I said in Racing For Freedom, aka RFF, I now own my absolutely, out of control, crazy, hectic, insane life and I'd be completely willing to trade it for the ownership of Harry Potter. **

**Parenting Class**

**Potions Equal Trouble**

**Very important Author's Note at end! Make sure to read!**

"Guess," Ginny smirked, looking smugly at the others.

"That's not fair," pouted Hermione. "Can we have a hint?"

"Two hints. One, it's a boy and two, he's a kid."

"Ron didn't do anything, did he?" asked Harry nervously, fearing for his friend.

"No, that little imp didn't play a part in this," Ginny assured Harry. "He was sitting calmly next to me during lunch when it happened and was too busy throwing grapes at Terry to do anything extremely horrible."

Hermione's eyes widened in horror. "It was Neville, wasn't it?"

"The one and only. He didn't mean to though."

"Kid really is accident prone," snorted Draco, shaking his head. "First he made Harry a teapot and then he set the entire Great Hall on fire."

"How exactly did he manage to set the place on fire? Surely someone must have noticed before it got that bad."

"I ran into Pansy and she explained. He knocked over one of the candles on the table, but instead of someone just casting a jet of water on it, one of the first years put gasoline on it. It blew up and injured a lot of the Slytherins pretty badly. That's why Neville, Pansy, and Blaise and a ton of others are in the Hospital Wing. Fortunately, no one died, although one girl has some really bad burns all over her face."

"That's terrible," Hermione murmured. "Does Madam Pomfrey need any help?"

"No, both her and Professor Sprout are up there right now and they're doing fine. But anyway, after the first explosion, it caught onto one of the banners and just spread from there. Didn't really help either when another first year shot kerosene at the fire."

"Are all Slytherin first years that bad with spells?" asked Hermione, turning to Draco.

"_I _wasn't," the blond declared, sticking his nose up in the air. "I was actually one of the best."

"Uh huh," Ginny grinned.

"I was," Draco protested. "No one can beat a Malfoy at anything."

"What about Quidditch?"

"And Transfiguration?"

"And Charms?"

Draco groaned. "You didn't have to say those."

"It's okay," Ginny comforted, patting Draco on the shoulder. "We still love you, right Mione?" The glance she sent at Hermione made the girl blush and mumble a yes. "Don't you two have Potions now?" she asked, glancing at her watch.

Hermione yelped. "Oh my God! We do! We're late! Snape is going to kill us!"

"You forget," Draco smirked. "You're with a Slytherin." Bidding hurried good byes to Ginny, who had a free period this hour, the trio dashed off for the dungeons, Harry riding piggyback on Draco.

Draco calmly entered the classroom and simply made his way to an open seat, Hermione following timidly behind and looking up at Snape, waiting for him to issue a detention. But just as Draco had said, Snape merely ignored them and continued with his teaching.

"-And make sure you add the beetle wings _after _the dandelion. You have exactly one hour to complete the potion. Begin."

"Hi Harry," chirped Ron, leaving his guardians and sitting down next to Harry, while Hermione and Draco dashed about the dungeon gathering ingredients. "Guess what?" he bubbled, before Harry could say anything. "See the teacher up there?" Harry nodded. "I poked him with a fork last night," Ron whispered.

"That wasn't very nice," Harry commented, looking at Snape with pity.

"But it was really funny," the redhead beamed. "I don't think he's very nice anyway. He yelled at Lavender when she wasn't taking notes."

"He's being nice to Draco," Harry observed. And indeed, the Potions master was handing Draco the ingredients he needed from behind his desk with a small smile on his face.

"He probably favors Slytherins," Ron snorted. "I hope when I get to Hogwarts I'm sorted into Gryffindor. That's where my mum and dad both were. And two of my brothers. Hey! Charlie and Bill should be here!" Ron gave an excited squeal and ran over to Lavender.

Unfortunately, he slipped on the stone floor and plowed into the Gryffindor, the ingredients in Lavender's hands flying into the air and breaking around the room. "Lavender!" he cried, sitting on the stunned girl's stomach and bouncing up and down. "Can you take me to see Bill and Charlie after class? Please? Please, please, please? Please with a cherry on top?"

"Who?" she asked, sitting gingerly up, Ron sliding down to her lap.

"My two oldest brothers! Bill should be in second year and Charlie should be in fourth! Can you please let me see them?"

"Oh…um…"

Hermione, overhearing the problem rushed in. "Ron sweetie, both of your brothers aren't here right now."

"They're not?" The child's lower lip quivered and all could sense he was about to throw a very noisy crying session.

"They went to the ministry to work with your dad for a little while. They'll be back in three weeks."

"They will?" Everyone around Ron nodded. "So I can see them then?" More nodding. "Okay," he smiled, face turning up in a smile. A large sigh of relief went around and Lavender slowly stood up and Hermione went back to her cauldron with Ron and Harry tagging after her.

Draco was adding ingredients to his and Hermione's potion, a scowl on his face, seeing as his robes had been covered with a green slime from Lavender's ingredients. "Anyways," said Ron, turning to Harry after seating himself comfortably next to the warm cauldron, "how bout we make this class more fun? Everyone's so quiet."

"But they're all working. We really shouldn't disturb them."

"We're just going to make it a little more interesting. Let's go get Neville, I'm sure he'll want to help." Harry's energetic friend pulled him across the room to a small brown haired boy crouched fearfully next to Blaise's feet as he stirred his potion, Pansy giving instructions. "Hey Neville," Ron grinned. "Want to help us?"

"Help with what?" the child asked nervously, not quite liking the smile on Ron's face.

"We're going to liven things up a bit. It's too quiet in here."

"But that man is scary," Neville trembled, pointing in the vague direction of Snape. "I don't want to get in trouble."

"He isn't scary," Ron laughed. "He's probably just really grumpy because it's so quiet in here. Don't you think a little noise would make him feel better?"

"I don't know…my gran likes things really quiet when she's cranky."

Ron pouted. "You mean you don't want to help me and Harry?"

"I don't really want to be a part of this either," Harry murmured. "I don't want to get in trouble."

"Please? I promise I'll take the blame if anything goes wrong."

Both hesitant children looked at each before they nodded slowly. "You'll take the full blame," Neville repeated, clarifying the decision.

"Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a broomstick in my eye."

"So," said Neville, "what exactly are we going to do?"

"I haven't quite decided yet," Ron admitted, turning a light pink. "Do you guys have any suggestions?"

"I try not to get in trouble or make a lot of noise," Harry said. "So I don't know anything."

"I normally make trouble by accident," Neville smiled sheepishly. "Like that thing back in that trans class. I'm sorry about that Harry," he apologized. "And the fire in the Great Hall earlier. Although Pansy told me it wasn't _entirely _my fault. It wouldn't have been so bad if the right spell had been used."

"Go make an accident then," grinned the redhead.

"How do you make an accident? That would be doing something on purpose and then it wouldn't be an accident," Harry puzzled, brow crinkled in confusion.

"It can be a purposeful accident," Ron smirked. "Go on Neville."

"You do something first," the brown haired boy said stubbornly.

"Okay. Remember how the man up there said how the dandelions had to be added before the wings of something? Why don't we go put the wings in first? What's the worst that could happen?"

Sneaking cautiously around the room, the troublemaker and his two sidekicks slipped a set of wings they found beside each person's cauldron into the potion that was brewing. "See," said Ron, after every pot had the wings inside. "Nothing bad happened at all."

But it appeared that Ron had spoken to soon. A second later, each cauldron exploded, bright orange liquid splashing over everyone in the room, except Snape who had been too far to the front of the room to get drenched. Screams sounded and large clouds of smoke rose into the air, making seeing impossible.

Harry coughed, but was surprised to hear a rather different sound. Much like a snort a horse would make. Come to think of it, he felt taller too, and a bit more unbalanced. A loud, trumpeting noise filled the room a second later, bouncing off the walls and making Harry clamp his hands over his ears.

But as soon as he raised his arms, the child fell to the floor with a thump, an odd clattering sounding when his hands hit the stone. "Ventus pulsus," Snape called from the front of the room, the smoke clearing away in an instant. All the students almost wished it hadn't.

Harry glanced at his reflection in some of the orange liquid on the floor, large, green eyes widening in horror. The gentle, calm face of a young deer looked up at him, a lightning bolt scar on his head and two little nubs of antlers sticking up. "What happened?" he asked, surprised to hear his own voice issuing from the animal.

"I'd bloody well like to know," snarled the voice of a very angry Slytherin. Looking to the right, Harry came face to face with a very mad silver colored wolf, eyes flashing in fury.

"Calm down," soothed Hermione, patting Draco awkwardly on top of his head with one of her paws. The girl had been transformed into a sleek, brown otter and was quite a bit shorter then the wolf.

Every single student in the classroom had been changed into an animal, some of them really rather amusing. Pansy was a very dark golden colored giraffe and was currently kneeling on the ground with her neck bent towards the floor so she wouldn't bump it on the ceiling. Blaise was a beagle and was sitting calmly on the floor, attempting to calm down the semi-hysterical giraffe.

Lavender had turned into a pure white Arabian horse with a brown mane that matched her hair perfectly. Terry was sitting by the front hoof of Lavender as a green crocodile, his jaw wide open with the teeth glimmering maliciously.

Neville cowered beneath Harry, the soft gray bunny rabbit completely terrified. "What did we do?" he whispered, trembling in fear.

"Who knows," Ron growled, in the form of a small orange tiger cub. "But someone had better be able to fix this."

Crabbe was sitting in the corner of the room as a baby grizzly bear and Goyle, one of his guardians, was sitting next to him as a hippopotamus. Their partner, Susan Bones (poor girl), was lying on the counter, her animal shape a Persian cat.

Other animals dotting the room included a penguin, a rather excited monkey (currently swinging from one of the candle brackets on the wall), a full grown lion that was looking at a pig, who in turn was squealing loudly and hiding behind a large mountain goat.

"Who," said Snape, voice as smooth as silk, "did this?" No one spoke, all the animals ceasing in their movements and watching the only current human in the room.

Ron broke down a second later. "It was them!" he cried, pointing a paw at the bunny and deer. "They did it!"

"You said you'd take the blame if anything happened," Neville sobbed, hopping off Harry's back and running to Blaise, wanting to be protected by his guardians. Harry gave a rather frightened look at Snape and trotted over to Hermione and Draco.

"Ronald Weasley," Snape said softly, looking at the tiger cub. "It looks like I've found the owner of who this belongs to." The Potions teacher held up the fork Ron had used on him at dinner. The tiger blushed and backed up a step as Snape came closer.

"Don't hurt him!" whinnied Lavender, dashing out in front of the tiger. "He didn't mean any harm…really." Turning to Ron she whispered, "You really didn't mean to do this, did you?"

"I wanted to liven things up," Ron grinned, Lavender glaring at him now.

"You can count on being grounded when we get out of this," she hissed.

"Professor? Can you turn us back?" Hermione asked worriedly, looking up at Snape with concern in her honey colored eyes.

"I should be able to, Miss Granger," Snape muttered. "But I'll need to know exactly what you did, Mr. Weasley," he said, his attention switching back to Ron.

"Ummm…well…Harry, Neville, and me…we all put the beetle wings in the potion before anyone put the dandelion in…"

Snape turned red with anger. "Specifically after I told you the dandelion specifically had to go in before?" he hissed, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Uncle Sev?" Draco nudged Snape with his nose and looked up innocently at the professor. "You're being a bit hard on them…they're just kids after all."

The class stared in shock. Had Draco just reprimanded Snape? The reaction from the teacher was completely unexpected.

"You're right," Snape agreed, patting Draco on his head, the wolf grinning in pleasure. "But that still doesn't mean detentions can't be given."

"Would you have given me a detention if I'd done this?" asked Draco, a smirk forming on the wolf's face.

Snape sighed. Trust his godson to figure out a way to get everyone out of trouble. "Listen up, all of you," he snapped, striding up to the front of the room. "It should only take a few minutes to get a cure figured out. Unfortunately, this class ends in four minutes and I have a bunch of second years coming in. Also, if you haven't yet noticed, your robes are no longer on you."

The students looked around, quite surprised to see their clothing on the floor around them. "Once I finish brewing the antidote, each of you will take a vial to the bathroom and change back there. For those of you who are quite large, I suggest going very carefully." He looked pointedly at Pansy and Goyle. "Gather up your clothes and wait by the door in a single file line."

The class did as instructed, although Lavender allowed Hermione to ride on top of her. A few minutes later, the bell sounded and students began to pass outside the Potions classroom door.

"Here you all are," Snape said, looping a bottle of the antidote around Hermione's neck and one around Blaise's. "Go to your respective bathrooms and take those. Then get to your next class."

It was a strange procession that made its way to the bathrooms as students stopped and stared at the animals. "Out of the way," Draco growled, pushing through one small group that stopped to stare.

"Draco?" Ginny asked incredulously, recognizing the voice anywhere. "What happened?"

"Your bloody brother," he snapped softly so no one else would overhear.

"Ron?" she repeated, absolutely flabbergasted. "He turned you all into animals?"

"What do you think? He convinced Harry and Neville to tamper with all of the potions and this is the result."

"Where is Ron? And Hermione and Harry?"

"Ron's the tiger, Harry's the deer, and Hermione's the otter on top of Lavender."

"Wow. Why do you think you all transformed into those animals?"

"Don't know. Don't care. Though I suspect it has something to do with our patronus form. I know Hermione's is an otter, so that's got to mean something."

"Harry's patronus is a stag after his father," Ginny mused. "And a deer is pretty close to a stag. Maybe you're right. Though some of you have very odd ones then. A giraffe and a penguin?" She shook her head, very amused. "I'll let you get going. You don't want to be late to your next class."

"Yeah," Draco muttered. "Divination, yay." Ginny giggled and disappeared into the throng of students, leaving Draco walking by himself until he caught up with Blaise. "Hey," he barked, nudging the beagle.

"Nice animal," Blaise commented, admiring the wolf. "I'm glad we at least both good an average sized one. Poor Pansy."

Draco nodded and looked up at the giraffe that was very carefully following Lavender, trying not to bump her head on the ceiling.

"I wanted to say thanks for getting Neville out of trouble," Blaise continued. "You're the only one who could ever manage to pull something like that off with Snape."

"No problem," Draco grinned. "It really is great to be his godson."

Harry, meanwhile, was walking quite subdued next to Ron. "I can't believe this happened," Harry moaned.

"Cheer up," comforted Ron. "Draco got us out of any trouble. And we really did liven up the class! I can't wait until Fred and George hear about this! They'll be so excited!"

"But now that poor man has to clean up the mess," Harry murmured sympathetically.

"He's a wizard," Ron replied. "He'll probably have the whole place neat again in a matter of seconds."

A few minutes later, the animals had gone into their bathrooms and downed the potion, all transforming back to their human forms with little pops. Hermione, as soon as she'd gotten dressed and retrieved her book bag from Lavender (the girl had been kind enough to also put that around her neck) she stood waiting impatiently outside the boy's bathroom for Draco and Harry.

It wasn't like she wanted to go Divination, but it was a class and she was running late. Plus the hike up the stairs to the North Tower would probably take a good ten minutes so it would be best to get up there as soon as possible. On the other hand, if Trelawney predicted Harry's death, she was sure the child would be terrified so much he probably would never leave his bedroom. Perhaps going to class wasn't such a good idea.

"We're ready," announced Draco, exiting from the bathroom with Harry by the hand. "Time to head up to the tower."

"Do you think it's safe?" Hermione questioned.

"That old bat is crazy," Draco grinned. "Come on, we've got a hike waiting."

Halfway up the stairs, Harry began to tire and found himself riding Draco the rest of the way up. When they entered the classroom, they saw that no one was there, all of them still getting dressed. But much to their surprise, a kindly, grandmotherly looking lady was sitting behind Trelawney's globe.

"Oh good," the woman smiled, a sigh of relief issuing from her. "I was beginning to think I'd come to the wrong room when no one came. Professor Trelawney is out sick today, something about the aligning of Neptune's moons, so I'm filling in today. Treat it as a free period, since I haven't a clue of how to do this mumbo jumbo. Oh, I'm Professor Isis by the way."

"You," said Hermione, grinning at the teacher, "are the best thing that has ever happened to Divination." The period passed in a relative calm, with Hermione reading from her Transfiguration book and Draco and Harry both doodling on spare bits of parchment.

Little did they know, that the next day would be far from peaceful. Very, very far.

**Author's Notes:**

Grats to those who guessed Neville! The clue was that it started at the Slytherin table...and since his two guardians are both Slytherins they'd be there. I know most of you are probably realizing the lateness of this chapter. My day (my whole week really) has been complete hell and I'm quite surprised I even got this up on Sunday. But I don't want to let anyone down so I updated. :breathes: I've needed to do that for a little while.

Here's the important question mentioned at the top of the chapter. Please please please answer it in your review, but first read the explanations behind each reason. **For the chapters that Harry is little, would you like to either A. See a lot of little Harry or B. See more Draco/Hermione? **Here's the reasons for each. This is the only time we'll ever get to see Harry as a child. In the sequel, he'll be his normal age of sixteen and won't turn younger at all. But I will be working on more Draco/Mione in the sequel, though I'm still working on that now. So if you choose choice B, you'll get more Draco/Mione here, but less little Harry. If you choose choice A., you'll get more little Harry but less Draco/Mione, though you'll see more of them in the sequel. So please let me know your choice! Tis very important! I'll go with majority :D

And since I feel like advertising, I wrote a one-shot yesterday that would simply♥ some feedback. So if you'd like to read it, I'd be overjoyed. It's called _My Hero _and it features Draco/Mione.

Also, seeing as it's quite late, I'm just going to answer questions and head off to bed. Please remember to review! Especially with your answer!

One quick note:

**Q-BriarXJade-Q** - Nope, I currently don't have a beta actually. I prefer to edit my own stories (but lately I haven't had time to proofread hence the spelling errors) but if I ever do decide I need a beta, I'll defiently (yes, I know, it's still spelled wrong) contact you. Thanks so much for offering:huggles:

**Are you going to explaim why Hermione's water spell worked better?** _submitted by LishaChan  
_Yep, I will be doing so. It's a rather interesting theory, I think, and it could actually work. I'll give you a hint, since I won't get around to having it be explained until next chapter. It has to deal with the placment of one of the characters when Hermione casted the spell.

**When Hermione gets changed and gets changed back again will she be different like not as studious? **_submitted by kendra is cheese  
_She'll definetly (and I probably didn't spell that right. I really must learn to type my AN on msword :P) going to be different. I see her as more open about breaking the rules, but she'll probably be just as bookwormish. Knowing her, as soon as she transforms back, she'll probably write her own book about what happened to her and record it.

**So whats going to happen in the sequel, do the teachers turn into kids...like McGonagall and Snape who are almost like kids themselves? **_submitted by Black Aliss  
_That would be hilarious! But unfortunately, I think most of us are going to be chibi-ed out by the time PC is over. Plus, the students wouldn't really be able to learn if their teachers were children. Though I can already see some of them...McGonagall would be extremely bossy and and Snape, I think, would be incredibly shy. And Trelawney...:snorts: Kami, she'd probably be my favorite to write, sprouting off fortunes every other line.

**Wouldn't Hogwarts have a spell or something to prevent the water from becoming cold? **_submitted by EosRaven  
_Maybe...maybe not. I mean, there probably is but it's funner not havingit. After all, I'm sure the bill Hogwarts would pay for hot water to the ministry would be rather high if the water was always warm.

**Are Draco and Harry going to do as Hermione had asked when Draco was little? Are they both going to let her give herself a bath and not be in the room with her?**_ submitted by charmedsisters  
_The way I see it, Hermione will be very stubborn about having either of them giving her a bath. But I do think, that Hermione is going to have quite a bit of trouble with her hair and need someone to help. I can already picture her and Draco bonding over hair.I mean, Draco's so vain and Hermione obviously wants it washed well or she wouldn't ask for help. hehehe

**When the whole class is over, will the Golden Trio be dissolved? Draco is getting so much closer to Hermone and Harry, without Ron in the way, how will this affect the friendships? **_submitted by __Q-BriarXJade-Q_  
I saw this question, and felt I really needed to answer it. So today, six were answered. XD I honestly don't know what's going to happen with that. I mean, they could become the 'Hogwarts Four' but the Gryffindor Trio sounds so much better. I'm thinking that what'll happen is it will be more of a Hogwarts four thing, but that name sux. If youhave any opinons on names or the topic, please include it in your review.


	21. Attack of the Dolls!

**Disclaimer: For some odd reason, I still don't appear to own Harry Potter. **

**Now, before the real story, a short commercial break. This idea was introduced by Brownwen, so you all owe her a big thanks for this rather hilarious clip.**

**Now announcing…Parenting Class II- The Teachers **

**Rating PG-13 for Trelawney's death predictions, McGonagall's potty mouth, and Flitwick's sugar high. Please, keep an eye on your own children (if you have any) and do not let them get any ideas from this. Thank you, and enjoy the clip.**

"Do you think it's dangerous?" McGonagall whispered, looking at the deep purple mixture in the glass vial, resting on Snape's desk. "Maybe we should confiscate it."

"Don't be silly, Minerva," chuckled Dumbledore, picking up the glass. "I'm sure if it were something dangerous, Severus would have found something when he cast a scan on it."

"What exactly is it, Severus?" asked Flitwick, standing on an upturned cauldron to see the top of the counter.

"It appears," Snape said, emerging from his private lab where he'd been testing it, "that it's grape juice."

"Ooooh," squealed Flitwick, hopping up and down before falling to the ground with a small thud. "Can I have some? Please? I love grape juice!"

"Why don't we all have a glass?" suggested Dumbledore, conjuring several glasses out of thin air and pulling the bottle out of Flitwick's hands.

"Is is alright if I join you?" came Trelawney's mystical voice from the door. The Divination professor had traded her green shawl for a rather vibrant red gauzy cape and bright green beads strung about her neck, a yellow skirt on beneath her silky blue shirt.

"We'd be honored if you'd join us, Sibyll," Dumbledore smiled, creating another cup. McGonagall snorted and Trelawney ignored her, instead opting to glide over to the table and settle herself down primly on a wooden stool.

"Something about this doesn't seem right," muttered Snape as the headmaster thrust a glass into his hand. "I mean, for some reason, I think we used grape juice in something recent."

"Nonsense," said Dumbledore, taking a large swallow from his glass. "Mmm," he grinned, smacking his lips in pleasure. "Tastes even better then normal." In turn, each of the staff took a drink before quickly polishing off the rest. "Well, I'd best be heading back to my office," said Dumbledore, rising to his feet.

But as soon as the man rose, he tripped, very unlike Dumbledore and fell to the ground. "Albus!" exclaimed the Transfiguration teacher, running over to the older man. But as soon as she got into range, a very odd thing began to happen. She collapsed next to the headmaster, her size about three times smaller then it had been.

"Who are you?" asked Dumbledore, looking blearily up at the other child. His long silver beard was gone, and his hair had turned to shoulder length brown locks. His blue eyes still twinkled, though this time in confusion. McGonagall had developed wavy, auburn hair, her face round and curious.

Snape let out a shout of alarm. "That wasn't grape juice!" he cried, jumping to his feet. "That was the de-ageing potion!" But before the man could even turn to grab the cure, he too shrunk to less then half his height, until a small, skinny boy was standing in the middle of the room, his black hair not as greasy as normal and cut rather short to fall just above his ears.

Flitwick too had changed, though his height not as much as the others. He now had dark brown hair, cut rather short around his tiny head, with a pair of bright brown eyes, looking interestedly around the dungeon room. At most, this child, though he was five, looked to only be three or four, mostly because of his height.

Trelawney was a child, with wavy blonde hair that cascaded down her back to her waist. The glasses had slipped off her nose, to reveal a pair of inquisitive blue eyes, her brow furrowed in puzzlement. She was easily the tallest of the five there as she glanced at the other children.

Hermione came humming down the steps to Snape's room, a book tucked snugly beneath her arm. "Professor," she called, rapping on the door. "I came to get the lacewings you said I could have." When no response greeted her, the Gryffindor stood chewing her lip, not sure if she should enter or not.

But when a shrill scream sounded from inside, she threw open the door, eyes widening in disbelief and horror. An extremely small boy was screaming and crying at the same time, as a taller blonde girl pointed at him, eyes mysteriously vacant. A dark-red haired girl was marching over to the duo, and before Hermione could blink, she'd slapped the blonde girl.

A thin, pale boy, made his way over and went to comfort the crying child, while the third boy stepped between both girls, who were glaring at each other. Closing the door softly, Hermione leaned back against it, pulse racing. '_This can't be happening…it just can't. How did the five of them manage to make themselves children? I can't just leave them in there…I need help. Lots of help.' _

Opening her mouth wide, Hermione screamed, "DRRRRAAAACCCCOOOO! HHAAAARRRRRRRRRRYYYYY! ROOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN! GIIIIINNNNNNNNNNYYYYY! HEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!"

The answer was instantaneous. Ron and Harry, who had been all the way at the Great Hall heard the scream and raced off, leaving their lunch abandoned. Ginny, researching for her Charms essay in the library, dropped the book and ran, Madam Pince shouting after her. Draco, curled up on his bed and writing an essay for Transfiguration, sprinted through the common room and towards the screams.

All four arrived at the same moment, conveniently crashing into one another and then rising, muttered curses and threats beneath their breath. "What's wrong?" asked Ginny, clutching her head where Draco had kicked it.

"The teachers," she whispered, nodding at the firmly closed door, her hand on the know to keep the children from opening it. "They're not…themselves." On sudden impulse, she turned to Draco and said, "Something's wrong with Snape."

His silver eyes took on a worried look, and pushing past Hermione, he entered the room, the girl slamming the door shut behind him. "You can do it," she called encouragingly through the wood. "They're just harmless little kids."

To Draco though, they didn't look harmless. They looked like predators, and he their prey. "Could you please explain where we are?" asked Dumbledore, walking towards Draco.

"Professor Dumbledore?" The Slytherin gasped, recognizing the periwinkle robes on the tiny wizard.

"My name's Albus," he said. "I'm not a professor."

"You will die a very painful death," remarked the blonde, her eyes boring into Draco. "There will be a huge inferno that will swallow you. But instead of dying, you will travel deep into the ground and melt in a pool of boiling lava." The smallest child burst into a new wave of crying.

"Professor Trelawney? Professor Flitwick?" he gasped, the situation getting weirder by the minute.

"I'm Sibyll," the girl pouted.

"And I'm Arden." (1- The books never had a name for Flitwick. Arden, in Latin, means excitable and thrilled…something that I think fits him quite well.)

"Then you must be Minerva," Draco concluded, looking at the redhead, "And you're Severus," he said, giving a smile to his godfather.

"You have seer blood!" cried Trelawney, rushing over and grabbing Draco's hand, inspecting the lines on his palm carefully.

"No I don't."

"Then how did you know their names?"

"…"

"What's that?" asked McGonagall, reaching into Draco's robes where she'd spotted a glittery material.

"Hey! That's mine," Draco exclaimed, grabbing for Sparkles, only to miss the girl and fall flat on his face.

"Let's play pony!" cried Flitwick excitedly, the tears abating at the most recent death prediction. Before Draco could rise to the floor, the child and sat on top of the Slytherin, his arms wrapped tightly about his neck and cutting off Draco's air supply.

Scrambling unsteadily to his feet, Draco lunged at McGonagall, who was now preparing to dump the stuffed animal into a boiling cauldron. Seeing him, she squealed, thinking they were playing tag, and dashed away, Draco hot on her tail with Flitwick holding on for dear life.

Dumbledore calmly went and sat next to Snape. Politely, he said, "I'm Albus, it's a pleasure to meet you Severus."

Snape nodded. "Nice to meet you too. Do you know where we are?"

"Not really," the blue eyes boy smiled. "But it doesn't look like a bad place. That boy is rather funny," he remarked, pointing at Draco.

"Can you believe that wicked girl?" sniveled Trelawney, gingerly touching her cheek where McGonagall had slapped her. "She hit me! Mars will make her suffer."

"Are you a fortune teller or something?" asked Snape, looking at the girl with interest. "Because you're pretty bad," he continued before she could continue. "I don't think it's even possible for that boy to die in lava…he'd have to travel really deep."

"You just don't appreciate my inner eye," she sniffed, nose in the air. "Because of your lack of believing, Venus will surely make your life very hard for the few days."

Snape snorted, the whole thing stupid. Albus, on the other hand, was quite interested. "What's my fortune?" he asked.

"Give me your hand," Trelawney ordered. "Let's see here," she murmured, tracing over the palm. "It says that you will grow to be nothing more then a peasant and you shall die by being hit with a bludger." Albus quickly tore his hand away, fear in his eyes.

"Don't listen to her," said McGonagall, primly sitting herself down on the seat next to Snape. "She doesn't have a clue what she's talking about."

Trelawney flared. "I do too know what I'm seeing. I have the inner eye! It cannot be denied!"

"Idiot," snickered the Transfig professor. "Stupid liar."

The seer's eyes welled up with tears. "That's…it," panted Draco, dropping down on the floor, his energy nearly spent. "No more name calling. And give me back my dragon."

"But you're too old to play with toys," McGonagall sneered. "What do you need it for?"

"Can I see it?" asked Flitwick timidly, still sitting on Draco's back. Nodding, the girl handed it to him, the child giving it to Draco.

"Hey! Why'd you give it back?"

"It is wrong to steal," observed Albus. Turning to Draco, he said, "I'm afraid you know all of our names, but I can't say I know yours."

"Oh…I'm Draco."

A timid knock sounded on the door and Hermione peeped in. "Is everything all right in there?"

"What the bloody hell do you think?" blurted out McGonagall, jumping up and crossing the room. "I'm stuck in here with no stuffed dragon, some loony girl who keeps predicting deaths, and I'm hungry!"

"Ummm…well…"

"Who are you?" Asked Dumbledore, standing in front of Hermione.

"I'm Hermione. A student here."

"Where's here?" asked Flitwick.

"Hogwarts."

"You mean we're at school?" squealed McGonagall, hopping excitedly on one foot. "I've always wanted to go to Hogwarts! But mum says I can't until I'm eleven! I'm so excited! Did we get put in here because we're too smart for our age?" She struck a regal pose before she pointed at Trelawney. "I'm afraid she doesn't belong here though. Much too stupid."

"I am not stupid! You are!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

While the two bickered, the adorable Flitwick went over to Hermione and pulled gently on her robes. "I'm hungry."

She took immediate liking to the child. "Then let's go get you some food…ummm, what's your name?"

"I'm Arden."

"I want food too!" cried McGonagall, abandoning her argument with Trelawney.

"We'll bring them our old room," said Hermione. "We can have Harry get them some food from the kitchens…come on."

Draco picked up his godfather and Trelawney, exiting the classroom and thrusting the young seer at Harry, the girl already beginning to examine Draco's hands again. Ron took McGonagall from Hermione and Ginny picked up Dumbledore, Hermione clinging to little Arden.

"What happened to them?" whispered Ginny, Albus looking interestedly around the school as the group headed for the Charms corridor.

"They must have somehow taken the de-aging potion," Hermione whispered back. "I don't really know how…I mean, we just finished the project last week…wouldn't they remember that?"

"Apparently not," snickered Ron. "Though you've gotta admit, like this, Snape doesn't look so dangerous." The kid was chatting animatedly to Draco, a shy smile on his face. "And Trelawney looks much better without those glasses. Maybe we should get rid of them for good."

"You will die a painful death by being trampled by a herd of rampaging unicorns," Trelawney to Harry, poking him in the stomach. "But before you die, you'll be pelted with rocks and in the end you'll drown when you get thrown in a lake and sink to the bottom."

"I like her better when she's older," Harry called back. "These predictions aren't so gruesome sounding."

The group arrived safely outside of Leviculus's portrait, the jester looking at them curiously. "Begging your pardon," he said, grinning at them all. "But I'm afraid you can't go in. You know this room was closed off after the project last week…and it's still in quite a state of disaster after the last occupant we had." Hermione had the good grace to blush and look down at her feet.

"We just need a place to put the kids," said Draco, smiling down at his godfather. "We have to go find…the uhh…the solution to the problem."

"And food," added McGonagall. "We're hungry!"

"And food," Draco agreed. "If someone stays in there with them, wouldn't it be okay? It isn't that badly damaged."

"All right, but no telling the headmaster."

"You're looking at him," whispered Ginny to Leviculus, the jester's eyes widening.

"You don't say?" he chuckled. "Go on in, I'll have something to laugh at him about for quite a while." Still laughing quietly to himself, Leviculus swung open and the group entered.

"It isn't too bad," Hermione defended. The chairs definitely had more stains to them, and the drapes had tears. Burn marks were in the carpeting and odd substances were on the walls.

"Looked a lot better before," Draco scoffed. "Especially when Harry was the special one." Harry blushed and rubbed the back of his head, dropping Trelawney to the floor. She immediately began to cry at the impact and Flitwick took up the shout.

"I'LL GO GET FOOD!" Harry shouted over the din, edging towards the door.

"ME TOO!" yelled Ron, going out the door and fleeing. Draco made a move to go as well, but Hermione grabbed him by the ear and shook her head, since trying to talk would have been pointless.

As soon as the two Gryffindor boys arrived back with food, the crying ceased and the children lunged for the food, though Snape and Dumbledore waited patiently by their appointed guardians for the time being. After several, calm minutes of munching and chewing, all hell broke loose.

It was McGonagall who started it. Reaching for another pastry, she knocked over Trelawney's pumpkin juice into the seer's lap. With a shriek, Trelawney lunged and tackled McGonagall, both girls going down in a tangle of arms and legs. "Bloody witch!" screeched McGonagall, pulling at Trelawney's hair.

Flitwick jumped up and joined the fight, Hermione screaming in alarm of him being squished. Dumbledore started forward to break up the argument, when he got pulled into the fray by his ankle. Snape, the only smart one at the moment, had taken a place behind Draco and was watching the fight from a distance.

By the time the teenagers got them all separated, McGonagall was sporting a red cheek and bloody lip and Trelawney had tears all over her clothes and her beads were broken and scattered on the floor. Dumbledore had a bruise forming on his forehead and his eyes watering up with tears. But Flitwick was the most astounding.

The child was literally bouncing off the walls, his steps now jumps and a large, somewhat insane, smile on his face. "What did he eat?" Ginny demanded, looking at the other children.

"Two pastries," said Snape softly.

"A bar of Honeyduke's chocolate," put in McGonagall.

"Three boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," Trelawney piped up.

"And five cookies," added Dumbledore.

Ron and Harry cowered at the glare Hermione sent their way. "WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING?" she exploded, stamping her foot madly on the ground. "THEY'RE ALL CHILDREN AND DON'T NEED THAT MUCH SUGAR!"

"Sorry Mione," they chorused meekly.

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door. "It's Madam Pomfrey," called the nurse from outside. "May I come in?"

Flitwick bounced over and opened the door, before leaping back and now jumping up and down on the couches. "One of the portraits told me about your situation," the nurse laughed. "I brought the cure, if you could round them all up."

"You're giving us poison," Trelawney observed, looking at her drink that the mediwitch hand given her. "I won't drink it."

"Me neither," said Flitwick still hopping about, the cure splashing over the edges.

"If you drink it, we'll give you all a big bar of chocolate," Hermione bribed.

"Really?" they all cried excitedly in unison.

"Promise," she said.

All downed the liquid in quick sips, looks of contentment on their faces. "This shouldn't put them to sleep," said Pomfrey, settling herself on the couch. "So they'll all be out of your hands in no time."

And true to her word, seconds later, five adults were sitting where children had once been. "I can't see!" cried the seer, reaching blindly around for her glasses, which were located on the floor in the dungeon.

"Good," muttered McGonagall. Hermione giggled. Even as children, the two had disliked each other.

"Feeling better, Uncle Sev?" Draco grinned, looking at his uncle.

"No," the Potions master growled, deeply embarrassed. Sweeping from the room in a flutter of robes, the other teachers followed, Flitwick still with a slight skip and Pomfrey helping Trelawney.

"That was definitely interesting," remarked Harry.

"McGonagall was almost as bad as you," Draco snickered, looking at Hermione. "Note the almost."

**The end.**

**:credits roll and everyone applauds:**

And now, onto the real chapter of this fic! Please do use the bathroom and grab a few snacks. Also, if you are the sort who falls out of your chair laughing, I suggest padding the area around you with pillows. You're in for one hell of a good time.

This chapter will focus quite a bit on D/Hr, but because of the new poll results, the next few shall be dedicated to Harry.

**Parenting Class**

**Attack of the Dolls!**

**Poll results: **

**Choice A (Harry): 47**

**Choice B (Draco/Mione): 27**

**Little Harry wins!**

All the students eagerly made their way to the Great Hall after their classes, quite eager to see what had become of the room. The tapestries had been fixed, though quite a number of jewels were still missing but would be sewn back on later. The floor had new planks of wood covering the holes, and all the tables had been replaced.

Hermione seated herself next to Ginny, with Harry next to her and Draco on Harry's other side, both keeping their charge separated from his rather devious friend. "If I could have your attention please," called McGonagall from the front, tapping a spoon on a challis.

A hush immediately fell over the students and all eyes turned to Dumbledore, who was rising to his feet. "First of all, I'd like to say that all of the students escaped are being treated in the Hospital wing. No one was lost." Loud cheering broke out at this, and Dumbledore waited patiently so that he could continue. "However, I have had many complaints of none of the staff being at the hall during the incident. I'm afraid that would be my fault, the other professors and I had a meeting upstairs. But fortunately, Miss Granger performed an amazing spell and managed to subdue the flames." Applause broke out once more, the brown haired witch turning pink with pleasure.

After a quick dinner, Hermione, Draco and Harry were heading back to their room when Dumbledore stopped them. "I believe you wanted to know how you did that spell, correct Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Sir," she said eagerly.

"It has to do with Mr. Potter," he said, smiling down at the boy. "When he gets frightened or upset, his accidental magic will kick in. This time, since I believe he was holding onto you, his magic was transferred to your wand and magnified your spell quite a bit."

"A bit," Hermione marveled, glancing down with wonder at the boy. "So it's really Harry we should have been thanking at the hall."

"No," the wizard said, voice much more serious now. "It isn't safe for Harry for others to know of his power. He is a mere child right now…if a select few heard of this, I fear for his safety."

"We understand," Hermione said softly, hugging Harry to her. Bidding good nights to the headmaster, the group made their way into their room and were all asleep moments later.

The next morning arrived all too soon for the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Bright sun streamed in through the windows, rousing the sleeping occupants for another day. The only student already awake at this time was the one and only, Hermione Granger.

The Gryffindor was curled up on her bed, rereading her Charms paper again before she turned it in on Monday. To her dismay, a pounding at the door and Leviculus' calls that someone was at the door forced her to get up and go and see who it was.

"Isn't it a little early?" she asked as Lavender dashed into the room, a sleeping Ron in her arms, Terry right behind.

"Can you do us a favor, Mione? Please?" Lavender begged. "I need you to watch over Ron for the day."

"WHAT? Are you mad?" she said softer, afraid of waking the sleeping occupants. "After what he did yesterday?"

"I know, I know. But it's an emergency. My mom went to the hospital last night…she was in a car accident and Professor Dumbledore told me I could go see her."

"And…she was with my dad," Terry grinned. "They're dating," he said, noting Hermione's confused look. "The doctors say it isn't serious, but we would like to see them."

"Oh, of course!" Hermione exclaimed, earlier feelings leaving. "Draco and I will watch him till you get back. After all, it is a Saturday, so at least we don't have classes."

"You're a lifesaver," Lavender squealed, pulling her friend into a hug. Both parents quickly departed, leaving Hermione alone with a boy who would grow to be her best friend, but at the minute was a mortal terror.

Carefully picking Ron up, Hermione placed him on the bed next to Harry, hoping for a few more minutes of beautiful and peaceful silence. No such luck.

Just as she was leaving Harry's room, Ron woke up, and glanced wildly around. "Where are Lavender and Terry?" he demanded.

"They had to go home," Hermione sighed. "I'm going to be watching you today."

As soon as Hermione left, placing a ward on the room so she'd be alerted if any explosions went off, the girl entered her room and settled back down to read her paper.

"Harry," Ron whispered, shaking his friend excitedly. "Harry, wake up!"

"W-what?" The black haired boy blearily looked at Ron. "What are you doing here?" he asked, staring with interest.

"Hermione said Terry and Lavender had to go somewhere. So I get to spend the whole day with you! And guess what? I have something fun that we can do!"

"Is it dangerous? I don't really want to get in trouble…"

"Nope. I took it from Lavender's trunk. See?" he said, pulling out a small box from his robe that Lavender had thrown over him before bringing him over.

"What is it?"

"A doll making kit. But the instructions say we can make them act like real people. Want to make one?"

"Sure!"

Ron dumped the box out onto the ground, and three figures spilled out, all blank white cloth, an assortment of clothes, and a piece of paper. "Let's see," Ron said, picking up the instructions. "Can you read these?" he asked, turning to Harry.

"They say to get a piece of hair from the person you want the doll to look like…"

"You go get a piece of Draco's hair. I'll get Hermione's."

Harry gulped but nodded and started off for Draco's room. Tiptoeing into the Slytherin's lair, Harry took a deep breath, willing himself to go forward, a pair of scissors in hand. Draco was sleeping soundly, Sparkles on the pillow next to his head and his blankets pooling about his feet, only a pair of emerald sweat pants on him.

Raising the scissors, he lifted one of Draco's bangs in his hand, his entire body shaking. At that second, Draco opened his eyes. Both stared at each other, green meeting silver, before both screamed, Harry from surprise that Draco was awake and Draco because Harry was screaming.

Harry made a slash with his hands as he fell back, the scissors cutting a long gash across Draco's forehead. The shrieks ceased and Harry burst into tears, seeing the blood dripping down and falling to the floor. Calmly, Draco reached up and grabbed his comforter, holding it against the cut.

Hermione came running into the room, Ron clutching onto her with a piece of brown hair grasped in his fist. "I KILLED HIM!" Harry cried, rocking back and fourth on the floor, holding the 'weapon'.

"No you didn't," Hermione shushed, making Draco let go of the blanket so she could look at the cut. "We just need a visit to the hospital wing." Ron, seeing Harry upset, began to cry too, the noise rising to an insane level. And because of it, Hermione panicked.

Grabbing Draco by his wrist, she yanked him to his feet and scooped up both crying boys in her free arm, and raced out the door, dragging Draco along behind her. "I'm fine," the Slytherin protested, having to jog so that he wouldn't lose his arm. "Seriously Hermione, it's just a scratch."

Several students, up and about already, glanced at them curiously, several of the girl's gazes lingering on Draco. Realization hit the Slytherin. "Bloody hell Hermione!" he cried, "I'm only half dressed!"

"Doesn't matter," she snapped, doubling her pace. "You can worry about that later, now you're getting medical care."

The four arrived at the Hospital wing seconds later and Hermione shoved Draco onto an empty bed. "Madam Pomfrey!" she hollered, dropping Harry and Ron onto the floor.

"You again," she snorted, exiting from her office. "I swear Miss Granger, at least five times a week, someone from your group is in here for one injury or another. Is it you or Mr. Malfoy?"

"Draco. He's bleeding."

"I'm fine," Draco growled as the nurse approached and pulled his hand away from the cut. "It's just a scratch."

"No it is not," she reprimanded. "Head wounds always bleed more then they should, but besides that, this is still pretty bad. Fortunately for you, I can fix it. Now drink this." She pushed a cup of foul looking green juice at Draco, who turned his nose up at it.

"Make me."

"You will drink it or I'll be forced to place you in a body bind and give it to you myself," Pomfrey threatened. Reluctantly, Draco downed the glass, his face a mask of disgust. "See, it already worked. Now get along with you all. And I don't want to see any of you for another week, are we clear?"

Heads nodded and Hermione herded them all from the room. Draco, quite enjoyed the attention the female population of Hogwarts was giving him this time (no longer worrying about the blood) and getting back to their room took about twice as long.

"Go get dressed in something more decent," scolded Hermione, shoving Draco towards his bedroom. "And you two," she said, looking at the young charges. "Just stay out of trouble and play quietly, okay?" Both nodded and disappeared into Harry's room.

"Did you get Draco's hair?" Ron asked, holding Hermione's.

"No. I missed."

"Then let's go ask him for it. Hermione never even noticed when I took hers."

Ron pulled Harry from the room over to Draco's room and barged into the Slytherin's. "We need a piece of your hair," Ron declared, plopping himself down on the bed next to Draco, who was pulling on a pair of socks.

"Why?" he asked cautiously.

"It's for a doll kit Lavender gave me," Ron said.

"She gave it to you?"

"Uh huh."

"But you said-" blurted Harry, before Ron clamped a hand over his mouth.

Before Draco could blink, Ron had cut a piece of hair from him and dashed out of the room, Harry right behind. When Draco exited the room, Hermione, who'd been sitting in the common room, took one look at him and laughed. "What's so funny?" he demanded, hands on his hips.

"Your…hair," she giggled. Draco looked at the mirror, eyes widening in mortification. Ron had cut away a good three inches from the right side of his head.

"Go to the Hospital wing right now," he ordered, one hand clamped over his missing hair. "Bring back hair growth potion…or else."

"Sorry, no can do," she grinned. "Madam Pomfrey said that she didn't want to see us for another week."

"Please?" Draco begged, "I'll do anything!"

"Anything?"

"Um…yes?" '_What have I gotten myself into?'_

"Oh good," Hermione smirked. "In that case, I want you to check out this list of books for me at the library."

"That's it? You don't want me to do your homework or be your personal slave or anything?"

"I do my own homework. If you did it, I would probably look bad. But as for you being my servant…that sounds nice."

'_Me and my bloody mouth!' _"Come on Mione…you aren't really going to make me do anything, are you?"

"You can start by dusting the rooms," she said. "And then I want you to alphabetize all of the books on the shelves. And after that…"

Twenty minutes later, Hermione left the room, Draco staring after her, with a list over twenty feet long spread out on the floor around him.

Meanwhile, in Harry's room, a Draco doll and Hermione doll had been successfully made. "They look just like them," smiled Ron, looking at his handiwork. As soon as the children had touched the hair to the dolls, they'd transformed to very good look a likes of the two, down to the Slytherin and Gryffindor badges on their robes.

Ron began to walk the Hermione doll across the floor, her legs going incredibly fast. In the hallway to the Hospital wing, Hermione suddenly sped up, her legs out of control. Students openly stared as she sprinted down the hall, her legs just blurs.

Ginny, seeing her friend's trouble, ran to catch up. "What's going on?" she asked, jogging rather fast to keep up with Hermione's walk.

"I don't know! But I can't stop!"

Ginny glanced ahead and saw the end of the corridor drawing near, but Hermione kept going straight. "Turn!" she cried. "You're going to crash!"

"I can't!"

At that second, Ron dropped the doll and Hermione fell to the floor with a thud. "Are you all right?" Ginny queried, bending down and helping Hermione to her feet.

"I…I think so."

"Oops," Ron grinned. "I dropped her. We'd better make her walk again!"

Hermione, standing still, suddenly took off at the inhuman speed again, this time thankfully in the direction of the hospital wing. "Out of my way!" she called as she tore through students, bowling over several. Literally flying up the steps, she barged into the Hospital wing. "I need hair growth potion!" she said, plowing into a wall, her legs still walking though she wasn't moving.

Mystified, Pomfrey handed it to her and then turned the girl around so that she was walking back out the door.

"Let's jump on your bed!" suggested Ron, tossing the Hermione doll onto Harry's desk. In the hall, Hermione screamed as she flew threw the air and landed ungracefully on top of one of the suits of armor. Ron and Harry both began to jump on the mattress, the Draco doll still clutched in Harry's hand.

Draco, who'd just stared to clean out beneath the couches was suddenly lurched to his feet and flew up two feet in the air before dropping down to the ground with a thud. Before he could even stand up, he was airborne again, this time going higher before falling.

"What'" _-bounce-_

"The" -_bounce_-

"Bloody" -_bounce-_

"Hell" -_bounce_-

"Is" -_bounce_-

"Going" -_bounce_-

"On?" -_bounce_-

Draco grabbed onto the couch as he fell this time, but when he felt his body lifting up, the couch came too, much to his amazement, before they both fell back to the floor.

In his room, Harry tossed the Draco doll up to catch it, when its head got stuck in the ceiling. "Uh oh," remarked Ron. "Now we have to get him out."

Draco screamed as he flew over twenty feet in the air before going through the ceiling, his head sticking in the room above. Blinking dazedly, little snitches flying around his head, he could tell where he'd come through.

Red plush chairs and couches littered the room, and gold banners hung from every available space on the wall. And clustered around his head were a bunch of Gryffindors, gaping at him. "Draco?" Ginny knelt down next to the head. "What's up?"

"It appears the Gryffindor common room," he remarked dryly.

"What are you doing all the way up here?"

"How should I know? I'm in my common room when I'm suddenly up here." In Harry's room, Harry was balancing precariously on top of Ron who was on top of the bed, trying to rescue the Draco doll.

"Got it!" he smiled, yanking down on Draco doll's legs. The real Draco was suddenly pulled down from the Gryffindor common room, falling to the ground with a thud.

"Draco? Are you okay?" Ginny called down through the hole.

"What do you think?" he moaned, lying eagle spread on the ground. "I think my back's broken."

"Don't move," the redhead cautioned.

"Too late," Draco muttered as he flew several feet in the air before falling back down again.

"I'll get Hermione!" Ron said excitedly. "I want her to jump too!" Scooping up the doll, he climbed back on the bed next to Harry and started to jump again.

Hermione, who had just gotten off of the armor and onto the floor, leapt a foot in the air, before falling down. Another jump made her go up, but this time, Hermione managed to land on her feet. And that's how she got down the hall, jumping several feet every other step.

Ron and Harry, growing bored of sitting on the bed, stopped and began to read a story to the dolls, the real Hermione and Draco being spared for a moment. When Hermione entered the room and saw Draco lying perfectly still, she raced over. "Draco!"

"I think he's okay," called Ginny. In surprise, Hermione glanced up. "He came through the ceiling," the girl explained. "I don't know how, but he somehow keeps flying up in the air…he stopped about a minute ago."

Hermione nodded and flicked her wand at the ceiling, the wood mending itself so that no one could ever tell there had once been a hole. "Draco," she repeated. "Can you hear me?"

Silver eyes cracked open. "Yes. What happened?"

"I don't know. Can you stand? I'll help you to the couch." Between Hermione half carrying Draco and the boy leaning heavily on her, he managed to get to the couch. Conjuring up an icepack, she laid it on his back, already seeing the bruising. "I brought you back your hair potion," she smiled. "Although I don't think you need it. Your hair grew back."

"It…did?"

"Yep. I wonder why…we'll just keep this for emergencies though," she said, putting the bottle on the shelf. The reason Draco's hair had grown back, although not known to the teenagers, is when the doll's were made, the Draco doll was made to look like his original self. And since the dolls look exactly like the person at that time, his hair was back.

"Look!" Ron squealed, pointing at the pile of clothes. "We can dress the dollies up!" Sorting through, Ron picked out two very skimpy pieces for Hermione to wear. "It's a bathing suit!"

"I don't think it is," said Harry. "It's missing part of the bottom part of the suit, see?"

"Oh well," said Ron. "Maybe it's broken. Let's dress Hermione!"

Hermione, who was sorting through the books while Draco rested, suddenly shivered. Looking down, she screeched at her new clothing. A rather sheer black lace bra covered her front and a black thong was on the rest of her. Draco, hearing the scream, jumped up, his eyes lighting on Hermione.

Before the girl could do anything, a picture had been snapped, Draco grinning like a Cheshire cat. "DON'T LOOK AT ME!" she cried in alarm, grabbing a blanket sitting on back of the couch and wrapping it around herself.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Draco smiled, tucking the camera away before Hermione could try and destroy it.

"I think the dolly is cold," Harry remarked. "It isSeptember." So both children once again redressed Hermione in her robes, the witch surprised when she removed the blanket to see her robes back.

"What's going on?" she asked softly, still keeping the blanket wrapped around her and settling down next to Draco.

"Dunno," he shrugged, wincing at the movement. "Although some parts haven't been so bad." Hermione lightly smacked him, not wanting to hurt the Slytherin too badly after his fall from the ceiling.

"We should make them kiss," Ron decided, after they'd finished reading the story. Taking the Draco doll from Harry, he pressed the doll's faces together.

In the common room, Draco and Hermione were suddenly lip locked, eyes widening in horror, embarrassment, surprise, and several other reactions. As soon as Ron pulled the dolls apart, Hermione and Draco sprang apart from each other, the Gryffindor blushing madly and the Slytherin with a light tinge to his cheeks.

"W-why…did you just…kiss me?" Hermione whispered, her fingers lightly touching her lips.

"I didn't. You kissed me."

"Did not…weird stuff has been happening to us all day…do you think it's a jinx?"

"You don't even believe in that stuff."

"I know…but this is so unreal. How is it happening?"

"Hermione! I'm hungry!" whined Ron, exiting with Harry behind him, the dolls riding in the redhead's pocket. "Can we go get breakfast now?"

Hermione stole a glance at Draco who gave a slight nod. "Okay, come on you two." Hermione and Draco were both pleasantly surprised when they all made it into the Great Hall, with no accidents or odd things happening.

"Is everything alright with you two?" asked Ginny as Hermione seated herself next to her long time friend.

"Not really sure," Hermione answered, selecting an orange from the silver fruit bowl. "Some really bizarre things have been happening all day."

"Like what?"

"Well…my super speed, and then both Draco and I bouncing…though Draco seems to have gotten it worse."

"Anything else?"

"Uh…no, nothing at all."

"You forgot something," Draco grinned.

"If you say anything," Hermione whispered threateningly, "I won't hesitate to castrate you myself."

"Actually, on second thought, nothing happened." Ginny pouted, knowing that something _had _happened, but neither were talking.

"Hey? Where'd Ron and Harry go?" Hermione asked, looking at the bench.

"They were headed for the Head table. Probably just want to say good morning to Dumbledore or something. Don't worry about them," said Draco, taking a slice of Hermione's orange.

At the Head table, Ron and Harry stopped next to Snape, though Harry was cowering behind Ron. "Excuse me," said Ron, pulling on Snape's robes. The Potions master looked down at the children, warning in his eyes. "We were wondering, Professor Scary Sir, if we could have a piece of your hair."

"_What _did you call me?" Snape asked, voice dangerous.

"Professor Scary," Ron grinned. "That is your name, isn't it?"

A vein throbbed in Snape's head and Ron decided on the best course of action. Reaching up, he snipped a piece of the black hair and then took off, Harry throwing one last fearful look at the man before following.

In a corner of the Great Hall, Ron administered the hair to the last blank figurine. Immediately, a miniature Snape was in his hands. "We should make him look happier," Ron decided. "So then people won't be as scared of him. And I think I know just the thing…"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Harry murmured, looking at Ron's dress choice for Snape.

"Nonsense," Ron grinned. "Let's head back to the table so Hermione and Draco won't worry."

The two mischief makers (well, really only Ron, Harry's just being dragged along) sat back down on the bench at the Gryffindor table, and Ron proceeded to make Snape look 'happier.' "We should make him dance too," Ron beamed.

Startled gasps and loud cries broke through the general chatter of breakfast and everyone turned to look at the Head table. On top of it Snape, dressed in a pink frilly tutu with a lacy pink bow holding his hair back was dancing, a look of absolute revulsion on his face.

Draco stared, open-mouthed, feeling as sorry for his godfather as he ever had had in his life. Hermione, besides snapping a picture, was wondering what was causing this. Looking at her two charges, she gazed at them, but more importantly what was in Ron's hand.

"RONALD WEASLEY! YOU'RE THE ONE BEH-" Hermione was silenced as Ron produced the Draco and Hermione dolls, and immediately pushed them together again.

Attention turned from Snape to the kissing teenagers, cameras flashing. "Ron's doing it!" Hermione said into Draco's mouth, nodding her head at the troublemaker. Draco reached behind him and grabbed the dolls from the child, both he and Hermione breaking apart. Hermione grabbed the Snape doll and quickly pulled the black robes over the tutu.

"Would you care to explain these?" Hermione asked, eyes glinting as she held the dolls up in the air for everyone to see.

Ron looked at her petrified, before opening his mouth,and pointing at the child next to him. "Harry did it!"

**Author's Notes:**

First off, I know I didn't update last week. If I ever don't update, please **look at my profile! It will have the reason there! **I got quite a few reviews and many e-mails complaining that I didn't update and asking why I didn't. First of all, read the profile to see why. I'm keeping the message up there for a few days. Two, I at first felt bad for not updating, but in reality, I really shouldn't. Writing PC is for my enjoyment and I could chose not to update for a year if I wanted to. So I do think that those of you who were so impatient that you couldn't even wait a week, really need to calm down.

I would like to thank EosRaven for her encouraging and supportive email. :huggles: It meant a lot to me that someone knows that I actually have a life besides fanfic writing. Speaking of my 'life' I just got my report card back and I'm ranked 17 of 482 students with a 4.3 GPA. To keep that, I need to study and to study, I can't write as much. So if you see me not updating, it probably means that I'm overloaded in my classes and I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible, kay?

Oh, and for the Bill Charlie thing, I might have gotten it mixed up. I was typing that chapter really late and I probably just missed it. :P

I'm off to do chemistry homework (yay :cough: ) so I'll just upload this now. Thanx again to Brownwen for the chibi teacher idea! It was fun to write! And as a fun fact, on MSword in size 12, the story, not A/N, is a little over 21 pages! O.o I really went over this time!

Oh! And a Happy Valentine's Day! Reviews are very appreciated:wink wink:

Thanx to all of these wonderful people for reviewing:

LiLbLueangeL1223, LishaChan, kat6528, jessebelle, Black Padfoot, yummyguitars, Hellfire Ashwolf, Ptrst, Raven, Black Aliss, Alazne, XX-Dracos-Dark-Queen-XX, Machina Al Bhed Chick, samhaincat, Gertyke, Slytherin ice princess, like whoa, SwTnDrEaMyPnAy, karanne, Stella Blu, kendra is cheese, Snow Purple Rose, Alenor, charmedsisters, ERMonkey, Burner of Cookies, Q-BriarXJade-Q, Rain-Pyr, Stupid Man Suit, Jissell, Raisa, katherose, Nachzes Black-Rider, scarlet-knight13, Sputzo, NERDofTHEmonth, Quill of the Lark, sakura1221, Bronwen, pink-helga, MiSSxMELON, LoonyMoony90, CircleOfStone, a reader, Karana Belle, CaliGirl0104, mir, knivesgirl346, Queen of the Frogs, Meg, bleedingheart666, wockygal, HPbabe143, Magellen-chan, MeLiO, lestatismylove, sugarhigh4ever8,blackrosebunny, anonymous, dotty, Cold-eyes-for-you, CurlsofSerenity, Arye, mya, mizz-samoa, meg, BrennaM, YamiClara, RebeccaChoong, Turtle on the road, lilchocolateangl, JeanMarie, Makotojs, aimee, Clarinetgurl0206, fille-chica143, EvilDemonClownsStoleMyShoes, SweetTrat4852, Hawaiian-Rachael, Cierra, veiled dreamer, Kelly, Fox May, didon, The Stump, Britni Puccio, heavengurl899, kisa, Keitorin Asthore, sam-derevko, sugerspice, Tanydwr, sisko66002, RiRiana, Stormy Skies, mhs02, Saiyachick, JediPirateElfyDude, ann, Enelya Tasartir, goldenone, Indian Ink, yoyoma, draco's gurl, jannah, bob-the-bear, ann, hottennispro88, gottalovedrakie, Manda, sal, PinkPhoenixButterflies, Januarye, Pluto, Musical-Harry-luver, Matto Dee, The Dragon Sorceress, cuznhottie, pinaypride, GryffindorGirl14, Lizz, whimsical nymph, writer451530!Matt, Hermy-luvs-Draco, chantel, and anonymous.

Some short notes:

**fille-chica143**- Actually, it said in one of the beginning chapters that classes might be switched around so that the parents went to classes that were for everyone, not such advanced classes as ancient runes and such. So Hermione, too bad for her, got put in Divination.

**Keitorin Asthore**- Kami! I'd luv that! I'm actually drawing some of my own fanart (so it'd actually be called authoress art XD) for PC! Some of the scenes are just so cute! So yes, I would love fanart:nudges other reviewers: You're welcome to draw too! Just e-mail me the links or the image file:D

**Saiyachick**- I read the Nights of Memoir. Was really sweet and very well written. I shall try to read more when I find the time…would you perhaps be able to loan me a magnifying glass? It might help me find it better. XD

**bob-the-bear**- FYI, I only send out e-mail alerts to non-registered fan fiction users. If you'd like to get alerts, please do put me on author alert.

And now for those questions!

**When Hermione turns little, Draco won't turn into a pedophile or anything, will he?** _Submitted by Ptrst  
_No no no and NO :shudders: I'm thinking his relationship with her would be more of a big brother little sister sort of thing. Never ever that!

**Don't you think when Harry and Ron go back to normal, Harry will be a little more distant with Ron, because Ron got him into so much trouble? Showing Harry how reckless Ron really is? **_Submitted by circleofstone  
_I honestly don't think so. The way I see it, Harry is quite reckless when he's older, so I don't think it would matter as much. But since they've shared these experiences in their lives, I see them growing closer since they'll have some childhood memories to think of each other by.

**Isn't Draco changing too much too soon? **_Submitted by Indian Ink.  
_I don't think so. In a lot of my D/Hr fics, it's really slow in their relationship, but I kinda have to speed this one up since they're only together as the same age once. I also think that with all of the impact Hermione made on Draco's childhood self, he'd really grow to love and respect her, knowing she cared for him very deeply.

**Tell me more about this play or whatever you're in! . **_submitted by Q-BriarXJade-Q  
_Oki, so not really a question, but that's oki. :P The play isn't a real one…we (the fresh and sophs) made the scripts, the lines, and all that junk…even the sets. Which is where I've been every Saturday…making sets. It's about travel (the director picked that) and it's just a bunch of short skits that we made that flow into each other. In one, I'm playing Marie, who's really quite nice and is always trying to break up her brother and sister from arguing when their family is stuck at security at the airport. The funny thing about that one is I wrote the script based on a real family vacation, and I'm actually playing my sister and myself (played by my friend Dara) is really sarcastic. I wish I'd gotten to play myself…:wistful sigh: The other scene I'm in is I've just been married and we're on a plane with this stewardess who keeps trying to reassure the passangers and keeps making things worse. And then during a practice one time, we are supposed to tip and fall out of the seats cuz of turbulence and my husband is supposed to catch me. He missed me XD I gashed my entire left arm up pretty bad.

**How do u get these wacky ideas?** Submitted by _elmolover614_  
Honestly? Not a clue. They just pop into my head. Although some of them have a meaning behind them. Like for Black is Our World, I was learning about the World War II and it kinda gave me the idea. And Shattered Innocence came to me after learning about Yuki's past… A Whole New World came to me while I was in Disneyland and we'd just seen Aladdin on stage. But some are really random. Like My Hero came to me in the middle of band class. This fic came to me while I was doing homework on my bed. And Be My Eyes and Black Tears came to me in the middle of church.


	22. Adventure in Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: I own once more my incredibly crazy life, but also my three day weekend. -grins- Unfortunately, I still don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't bother writing this disclaimer.**

**Parenting Class**

**Adventure in Diagon Alley**

**Important Author's Note at end. Please, please, please read!**

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, looking down at his feet, emerald eyes welling with tears before he blinked them back.

Hermione slid off the bench and knelt down before the child, taking his small hands into hers. "You did nothing wrong," she murmured, "and shouldn't be sorry for anything. Tell me honestly…did you want to cause this much trouble?"

Slowly, Harry shook his head, still refusing to meet her eyes. "No," he said, so softly his reply could barely be heard.

"Then you aren't to be blamed at all. Although I can think of someone who would be the mastermind behind all of this." Ron looked guiltily down at his feet as the brunette's gaze landed on him. "Tell me, Ronald Weasley, was it your idea to play with these dolls?"

"But Lavender gave them to me!" Ron defended. "It should be all right then."

"I'm quite sure Lavender's judgment is better then to let you play with obviously magical dolls. I get the sneaking suspicion that perhaps you took them from her trunk." Just as Ron did when he was older, the boy blushed so much that his ears turned bright red. "That's what I thought."

"I just wanted to have some fun," Ron muttered, picking at a loose thread on his sweater.

"You need to learn that sometimes your fun might not seem like that to others. It can be mean, hurtful, embarrassing, and other things I won't mention. You should be very ashamed of yourself. Now, go apologize to Professor Snape this instant."

As the hall watched, Ron sullenly made his way up to the Head table and stopped next to Snape's chair. "I'm sorry, Professor Scary," he said softly.

At a pointed look from his godson, Snape muttered, "You're forgiven." Bending closer so that only Ron could hear him, the Potions master said, "But if you ever do anything else, don't run to anyone for help…you'll be in trouble with me…very big trouble."

Gulping and biting back the urge to scream and run as fast as he could, Ron made his way back to Hermione. "Happy?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest with a pout on his face.

"No. I don't like that attitude young man. And even though I'm not your real guardian, I do have every right to do as I wish. Lavender and Terry will give you your real punishment, but I'll start for them. Now come on, we're heading back to the room."

Draco picked up the still sniffling Harry and followed Hermione, who was walking directly behind Ron, out of the Hall. Their group was silent as they went down the corridor towards Leviculus, no one saying anything to trigger an outburst from the quite enraged Hermione.

The jester fortunately seemed to sense that Hermione was in no mood to play games or chat and swung open as soon as she said the password, her voice tight. As they entered, the girl pointed for Ron to sit on the on the armchair and for Draco and Harry to sit on the couch. She opted to stand and look at Ron.

"I'm not going to punish you severely, that's for Lavender to do, but I am going to give you a timeout. You are to sit in that chair until Lavender and Terry come back today. What you did was very bad Ron. How would you like it if I controlled your actions and made you run butt-naked around the school?"

"I wouldn't."

"Then are we very clear that you are never to use these dolls again? Or do anything like this? You were very lucky…Draco or myself could have been severely injured in some of the stunts you pulled."

"Yes," Ron mumbled.

"All right then. Now stay there until Lavender comes to pick you up. And no talking to Harry."

A few minutes later, the group had settled. Hermione was in her bedroom reading a book (with the door open so she could watch Ron), Draco had been given permission from Hermione to go out to the quidditch pitch and had already left, and Harry was sitting on his bed, just watching Ron.

As soon as Ron saw that Hermione was deeply immersed in her book, he beckoned for Harry to come over. The black haired child gave a little shrug, not wanting to really get in trouble. The gesturing got more frantic and Harry, against better ruling, cautiously made his way over to Ron.

"What?" he whispered, throwing a fearful glance at Hermione's room.

"I'm bored," sulked Ron.

"You're also in trouble…wouldn't it be better to just be bored and sit quietly so Hermione doesn't yell?"

"No. There's really nothing worse she can do. Hey! Why don't you go get the dolls from her?" Harry gave his friend a pointed look of 'are you crazy?'. "I'm just kidding."

"I'm going to go back to my room…I don't want to get in trouble."

"Don't go," Ron pleaded. "I'll die of boredom!"

"You mean you'll really die?"

Ron nodded. "Uh huh."

"But I don't want you to die!" Harry cried in a hushed voice.

"I know what'll help."

"What?"

"There's this shop in Diagon Alley that sells this yummy ice cream. If I had a double chocolate dipped cone with rainbow sprinkles, I'm sure I'll live, even if I am bored…but I can't leave this chair."

"How do you get to that place? I'll get you the ice cream!"

"You use floo powder."

"Floo powder?"

"Yep. You step in the fireplace and then throw it at your feet while saying where you want to go. And you'll go there."

"Where do I get floo powder?"

"Draco probably has some," Ron mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "He is rich, you know."

"Draco's rich?" Harry asked, jaw dropping.

"Very rich. He could buy almost anything he'd ever want!" Ron's eyes grew as wide as galleons as he told Harry what he would buy. His list consisted of ice cream, candy, cookies, a broomstick, his own house, an own, and a pet elephant.

"An elephant?" Harry repeated. "Aren't those really big?"

"Yeah, but my elephant could get his own house. What would you get, Harry?"

"I'd want some clothes that actually fit me…and a gameboy! Dudley has one but he never lets me play. And a puppy…I really want a puppy!"

"A puppy would be nice," agreed Ron. Throwing a glance at Hermione he said, "do you think you should go now? She doesn't look like she'll notice." Harry nodded and crept into Draco's room.

Opening the Slytherin's trunk, Harry dug through some of the clothes until he found a small pot that was labeled 'floo powder.' On a sudden impulse, he grabbed a handful of gold coins from a bag on Draco's dresser. He knew ice cream cost money, but he didn't know much. So a few of the huge gold pieces should be enough, right?

Darting back across the common room, Harry stepped into the fireplace, thankfully the fire not lit. "I'll be right back Ron," he assured. "Don't die."

Seconds later, Harry disappeared from Hogwarts and appeared sliding out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron. Standing up, he looked curiously around at the array of people clustered about the small room. Following a man walking with a cane, Harry exited the building and followed the man through a stone archway.

Harry gasped in surprise as the wall closed up as soon as he'd walked through, each stone sliding back into place to form a solid wall. To further his amazement, the boy simply had to look in front of him. Never had he seen so many magical things and stores all at once.

He shivered, just realizing how close to magic he really was. Uncle Vernon would be really mad if he ever found out…but he didn't want Ron to die. Taking a deep breath, the child started into the magical world of Diagon Alley.

"If I were ice cream, where would I be?" Harry wondered, edging his way carefully around the crowds. "Somewhere," the child sighed, realizing just how big Diagon Alley was. Stores lined both sides of the street, other alleys branching off to even more shops. People were everywhere and being so small it was basically impossible to see where he was going.

As Harry stopped to try and get his bearings, he was shoved from behind and tumbled into a store on his right, eyes blinking slowly to adjust to the darkness. Barrels lined the walls and bushels of plants hung from the ceiling. At the front counter, a rather plump witch was getting a bag of newt eyes weighed on a large brass scale.

In interest, Harry began to go around and look into each barrel, being extremely careful not to touch a single thing. Just like when he went to someone else's house with his aunt and uncle, he was told not to bump into anything and to sit perfectly still on a couch or chair and not disturb them at all.

After he'd inhaled the stench of dragon dung, Harry decided to leave and go back in search of ice cream for his 'dying' friend. Exiting the shop he once more started on his way down the crowded streets. Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts…

"HE'S GONE!" Hermione screeched grabbing her cloak from her bed and dashing back into the common room, panic in her eyes. "HOW DID HE GET OUT?" Grabbing Ron, the witch sprinted from the room out to the quidditch pitch, eyes scanning the sky for the blond. "DRACO MALFOY! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" she screamed, shaking her fist at the brooms.

Seconds later, Draco dismounted in front of the duo, surprise etched on his face. "Where's Harry?" he asked, leaning casually on his broom.

"I DON'T KNOW! HE JUST DISAPPEARED!" Hermione took a calming breath and then continued. "I went to check on him and he wasn't in his room," she said slowly. And he wasn't with Ron."

Draco turned to the redhead and queried, "Ron, did you see Harry go anywhere?"

The child fidgeted and shook his head, though guilt was ridden all over his face. Before anyone could blink, Hermione had conjured a stool and placed Ron on it, a bright light shining on his face just like she'd seen real interrogators do to make their victims sweat.

"Did you speak to Harry while you were sitting on that chair?" she pried, eyes boring into the boy.

"Umm…yes?"

"Are you answering or asking, Mr. Weasley?"

"Answering?" At Hermione's death glare, he quickly said, "answering."

"What did you say to him?"

"That I was bored."

"Is that all?"

"Umm…yes?"

"Mr. Weasley!"

"Sort of…no…not really."

Draco took on the role of the good cop. "I promise, Mr. Weasley, that if you answer all questions truthfully you will be rewarded."

"And if you don't," growled Hermione, "You'll wish you hadn't. Now, what else did you say to Harry?"

"That I was bored…and that I might die."

"Why would you die?" the girl snarled. "You can't die by sitting in a chair."

"But I could die from boredom! It is true. Fred and George almost died when Mum made them sit in different rooms for over an hour. It's dangerous!"

"So where exactly did Harry go after you talked to him?" asked Draco, intervening between the two's conversation.

"HewenttoDiagonAlley," Ron said in one breath, hoping that neither teenager would catch it. Unfortunately for him, Hermione has _very _keen hearing.

"DIAGON ALLEY!" she screamed, picking Ron up by his sweater and shaking the child. "WHY ON EARTH WOULD HE GO THERE?"

Draco pried Hermione off of the child and set him back on the seat. "I'd like to know too," he said, holding Hermione back incase she attempted to grab Ron again.

"I told him that I'd feel better if he got me ice cream…so he said he would."

"Let me get this straight. You told Harry you would die but ice cream would make you better. So you sent him to Diagon Ally for ice cream. Is that right?"

"That's right," Ron grinned, thankful Hermione appeared to be calming down. Note the appeared.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? SENDING HIM OUT THERE! DO YOU KNOW WHAT COULD HAPPEN? IF I WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT BEING SENT TO AZKABAN, I'D KILL YOU!"

Ron burst into tears and Draco sighed. "Mione, you can't be so hard on him," he scolded. "He's just a kid. But you do need to be more responsible," he said, turning to look at Ron. "Exactly how did Harry get to Diagon Alley anyway?"

"Floo powder," Ron whispered. "He took it from your trunk."

"Let's go talk to Dumbledore," Draco suggested, still keeping a death grip on Hermione's wrist so that she wouldn't attack her best friend. "He'll know what to do."

The three made their way quickly up to the headmaster's office, the candy password this time Skittles. Dumbledore was writing a letter when Hermione burst in. "Headmaster! You have to help us! Harry's in Diagon Alley! By himself!"

"There is no real reason to worry, Miss Granger. I was informed of this problem as soon as Harry left the castle. As you probably know, the floo channel is monitored and as soon as someone in your room departed, I knew. Don't worry about Harry…he's in good hands. Now, go on back to your room…Harry will be returned before dinner."

The group left, and headed back to the 'rainbow room,' apprehension on the teens minds and relief on Ron's. But all couldn't help wonder…who was watching Harry?

LINE! LINE!

Harry exited the quidditch store, a smile on his face. He wanted to learn to fly just like Draco and all the people on the posters. But back to his current ice cream…finding ice cream for Ron.

But Harry happens to be distracted easily. As he was passing another store, a barking inside caught his attention. Ignoring the building just two stores up that had an ice cream cone on the front, Harry entered the noisy store.

Surrounding him were animals of all kinds and sizes. An electric blue parrot was squawking loudly from its perch and two small red parakeets that glowed whenever they got to close to each other sat beneath it.

Several cats came and began purring, rubbing against Harry's ankles. Reaching down, Harry made sure to pet every single one before continuing in the sound of the barking. In a roped off corner were several puppies, barking and chasing each other around.

Squealing, Harry climbed over the small fence and into the dog's area. At once, the little puppies began to crawl over to him and lick the boy upside his face. Giggling, Harry hugged the smallest of them all, a tiny Golden Retriever, to him and threw a chew toy to the end of the enclosure.

Immediately, the other puppies took off after the toy, though the retriever stayed by Harry's side. "I wish I could keep you," Harry whispered, petting the wriggling mass. "I've always wanted a puppy."

"Excuse me," said a man, his long face in a frown. "No one is supposed to be back there without supervision."

"I'm sorry!" Harry cried, standing up quickly though his arms were still wrapped around the puppy. "I just wanted to pet them."

"It's all right," the man smiled. "May I ask where your parents are?"

"They're dead."

"Then where are your guardians?"

Harry knew lying was bad. But he couldn't very well say he'd snuck out of Hogwarts. He'd get in really big trouble. "They're outside," he lied, crossing his fingers behind the puppy.

"I see. Are you interested in buying a dog? This one sure seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Can I really?"

"If you have money. These puppies will be rather expensive since they are muggle dogs and are quite rare in the wizarding world. The one you're holding will be about five galleons."

Harry gently set the puppy down and pulled out ten of the gold coins he'd taken. "Will this pay for him?"

"Actually, you only need half of those," he said with a smile. "Now come right this way, young sir. We'd best get your new dog some toys and a leash, hmm?"

Harry nodded eagerly and followed the storekeeper with his new puppy in arm. "Over here we have a custom brand of leashes," he said. "This one is very nice," the man said, pulling a red one off the wall. Depending on where you hold it, it will shrink to where you want the length to be."

"I'll take it! Can I get a collar for him too?"

"Of course. What color would you like?"

"Red to match his leash!"

Nodding, the clerk pulled a collar off a hook and slipped it over the Golden Retriever's head. "As it grows older the collar will expand so you won't have to buy another one," he explained. "Would you like to get your new pet any toys?"

Together, Harry and his puppy picked out a squeaky ball that flashed different colors when you squeezed it and a cloth unicorn that had a squeaker in it. The total purchase came to six galleons and three knuts, which Harry happily handed over. A few minutes later, Harry and his puppy exited the pet store, the dog walking happily next to Harry.

"I need to name you," Harry said, bending down and scratching the dog between his ears. "How about Butterscotch? You're golden like butterscotch…how do you like that?" The puppy gave a yip as an affirmative. "Good!"

Just as the two were about to enter the ice cream an orange tabby cat darted in front of the duo. With a bark and a snarl, Butterscotch tore from Harry's grasp. The child chased his dog, yelling for him to heel, though the pup didn't heed.

Out of a store farther up the road, a man stepped into the path of the dog and caught the leash as Butterscotch tried to pass. "Thank…you," Harry panted, reaching weakly out for the leash.

"Don't you think you're a little young to be out on your own, Harry?" the man asked kindly, leaning over and petting Butterscotch.

"How do you know my name?" Harry asked curiously.

"I was a good friend of your father's. Professor Dumbledore sent me to watch you while you were out and make sure you arrived back safely at Hogwarts."

"What's your name?"

"I'm Remus Lupin."

"Do you have a nickname?"

"I do in fact…Moony."

"Can I call you Uncle Moony?"

Lupin smiled. "If you'd like. Would you like to get an ice cream cone?"

At that, Harry paled. "Oh no! Ron's going to die if I don't get him his ice cream! I need to get it really fast!"

"Your friend is perfectly safe," Lupin reassured. "Don't worry about the ice cream. But would you like any while we're here?"

"Can I really have one? Uncle Vernon never lets me have ice cream or anything."

"Yes, you can. My treat." Minutes later, both walked out of the ice cream parlor, Harry licking on a strawberry cone coated in dark chocolate and Lupin with a frozen coffee smoothie and a bowl of vanilla ice cream for Butterscotch.

"I think he likes it," Harry laughed, watching the puppy devour the ice cream. "Do Hermione and Draco know I left? I don't want them to worry…"

"Yes, they do know. But Professor Dumbledore assured them that you're perfectly safe. Speaking of which, we'd best head back now. Dinner will be soon and we should make sure your pet gets a chance to visit his new quarters, hmm?"

"Okay," Harry agreed. "But how are we getting back, Uncle Moony?"

"Floo powder," he grinned. "Come along, we'll go from the Leaky Cauldron. It's the most accurate of the floo transports here." They made their way back to the crowded pub and seconds later were both sprawled out on the Headmaster's office floor.

"I see you got him," Dumbledore smiled, offering a hand to help Lupin up. "And who's this?" he asked, looking at the soot covered puppy that had just jumped up on his robes.

"Harry's new dog," Lupin chuckled. "You don't mind if he keeps him, do you? We'd devastate him if we told him dogs weren't allowed at Hogwarts."

"You mean Butterscotch can't stay here?" Harry asked, overhearing both adults. "Please Grandpa? Can't you let him? He'll be good, I promise!"

At that second, the sound of ripping was heard and everyone turned. Butterscotch was sitting innocently on top of Dumbledore's desk, papers ripped all around him, ink pots tipped over and Fawkes in his mouth, the bird squawking angrily.

"Good, huh?" Lupin snorted. "What an understatement. I present Hogwarts with its newest terror…Butterscotch, the Destroyer."

**Author's Notes:**

First of all, about this chapter. I wrote it at my friend's house on Sunday night because I'm running so far behind. So please excuse the shortness. Also, I didn't even bother to spellcheck it because on her computer none of the words I use (like Draco or quidditch or anything like that) are saved and it would take me over an hour. So please excuse all spelling errors. And if I got a book detail wrong, pardon that as well. I don't have my books on hand with me at the second. Arigatou.

Two really important notes actually. First one. **I will NOT be updating next Sunday**. The reason for this is my play starts on Friday and every night up until that I'm at play practice until 7 in the evening. And if I want to do my homework, I won't have time to write this at all except on Sunday. And quite frankly, I would like a break day so that I can just sit back and relax. Begging won't get you a chapter sooner, so don't try. I'll **update in two weeks, savvy?**

Second note. I noticed I have a lot of angst lovers (like myself) here who want to see Harry angst. I would like you to vote from three options. Majority is what I'll write. Please include your choice in your review. They are:  
**A. It will be angst free with no relations to Harry's childhood life with the Dursleys. Overall, pure humor.  
B. There will be a lot of angst in future chapters with lots of added detail on Harry's earlier life. But there will be humor, though it will be random amounts. I don't have a definite.  
C. A half and half. You get some angst with some humor, probably more humor, but enough to keep the angst lovers hopefully satisfied. I will say, this isn't ment to be an angst fic, and if you would like to read one, visit my profile. Almost all of my HP fics cept this one and I think 2 others are all angst.**

Now, I'm extremely tired so I'm not going to go through and answer questions except to some rather stupid ones and one that several people asked. But a big thanx to all of you who did review (we hit 1500 O.o) and I just want to award you all with a plushie chibi McGonagall and Trelawney. And thanks to those about Flitwick's name...I don't really go to Rowling's site so I didn't know. I do hope you'll all review again. Whenever I'm having a bad day, I'll come and read some of the things you guys write...it always cheers me up and I really appreciate it.

**How long do you think the overall story will be?  
**Well, I'm guessing it'll be about 40-45 chapters, give or take a few. Hermione will get a lot and then I still have to wrap this up before I move onto the sequel. And yes, for another question I remember, the sequel will follow exactly after this, so they'll still be in sixth year.

Now to some questions that I got that seemed to me kind of odd..They were all submitted by _Ju Ju Bee1000_.

**Um, if Norbert was forty feet high...how could Harry put Draco on Norbert?**  
For starters, Norbert was forth feet long, not high. You can go back to chapter 9 to read all of this btw. As the text says, _He had to be about forty feet long by now! _Two, Hagrid put Draco on Norbert, not Harry. It says, _'Giving him one last squeeze, Hagrid set the child on top of the dragon's back, right behind the wings where there were no sharp ridges.' _So it says right there that Hagrid put him on.

**How would Harry know that "magic" is a forbidden word if he hasn't heard it?**  
I can only assume Harry was told from as soon as he was old enough to understand that magic is bad. After all, if he grew to like fairy tale books with wizards and mythical creatures then trying to convince him when he was older wouldn't work. They wanted to sqaush the magic out of him, so being told no from the very beginning is what I think would happen.

**Whatever happened to this alleged "romance" of Harry and Ginny?**  
What do you mean, what happened to it? It's still there, but my main concentration is Draco/Mione right now, seeing as they're two of my main characters; Ginny isn't. Also, seeing as Harry is only five years old at the sec, I really can't see romance happening.

**How would Harry know how a married couple argues?  
**Vernon and Petunina can't be perfect all the time. And when he's gone out he's probably seen people argue at malls or the park about things. Besides, everyone has their disagreements...and Petunina and Vernon might aruge as in a flirting way...

**My. I sure can tell you have a very small family from this chapter. Your view of big families is VERY steriotypical. I, personally live with a very large family and not everybody has to scream to be heard. I find this very offensive.  
**Um, no actually. I have a twin sister and a younger brother and we're all very loud. And I have a friend with seven brothers and sisters and you don't have to scream at their house. My point was that with Fred and George there and a younger Bill and Charlie (who I can't imagine ever being quiet children. I mean, one works with dragons and the other is just totally cool) the house would be very loud. Especically if Fred and George play pranks, which we know they do since they turned Ron's teddy bear into a spider when he was younger. I didn't mean to offend anyone, but I just see the Weasely household as being very loud and you have to yell to get attention.

**What happened to the classes for a good portion of your story?  
**They're there. I hold a lot of chapters on weekends or after classes.

**Isn't Hermione going out with Viktor Krum? What happened to him?  
**I don't ever recall her actually 'going out' with him. Rowling barely ever mentioned him in OotP which leads me to believe he isn't a main character in it at all. Besides, this is a D/Hr fanfiction. I see no need to use Krum unless I want a jealous 'boyfriend' who wants Hermione. And I really don't see that happening in this fic or the sequel.

**In Dobby's dialect he always says "Harry Potter, sir" why didn't you put this in?  
**For one, I didn't have the book with me at the time to double check refrences. Two, it really isn't that big of a deal so I don't see why you even brought it up.

**Since when did Hermione have honey eyes? Where in the book did it say that?**  
I don't have the book with me, but it does say in the book she has brown eyes. And honey is a shade of brown. It just sounds better to mix in other colors, like honey or chocolate, instead of always saying brown. It gets boring.

**And who is this Blaise person?  
**Blaise would be a character in the books...he was never exaggerated on, but in the first book we found out that a Blaise Zabani was sorted into Slytherin in the same year as Harry. He (or she, the gender was never specified) is often used as a character with the author's chosen personality so that they don't use a Mary Sue or an OC and so we can use background, like we know Blaise is in Slytherin so it's bound he's going to be into Dark Arts, cunning, sly, or crafty.


	23. Butterscotch, Banisters, and Broomsticks...

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Harry Potter. Buh-bye. Buh-bye. Moooooo! (Don't ask :P)**

**Parenting Class**

**Butterscotch, Banisters, and Broomsticks!**

**Author's Notes: I've had a stupendous, incredible, and brilliant (if I do say so) idea for this fic for you, the readers! See after the story in Author's Notes for more details!**

**Poll Results:**

**A. 16  
****B. 5  
****C. 29**

**C wins! It'll be half/half.**

To say that Hermione and Draco fell madly in love with Butterscotch would an absolute exaggeration. It'd be more of Hermione and Draco instantly realized that life just got about ten times worse. Butterscotch was no angel, that much was obvious.

After Dumbledore had managed to pry Fawkes out of the puppy's mouth, Lupin had taken Harry and Butterscotch back to their room. And that's when the two teenagers first got to meet Butterscotch…

"Hermione!" Leviculus called, "Harry's here! With a visitor!"

The portrait swung open and Hermione dashed out, scooping Harry into her arms and giving him a hug. "I was so worried about you! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Uncle Moony took care of me," Harry grinned. "He even bought me ice cream."

"Professor Lupin!" the girl exclaimed, giving the old D.A.D.A. teacher a hug as well. "It's been ages since I've seen you! How are you doing?"

"Quite well. And yourself?"

"I'm doing pretty good. Although I did get stuck in Divination this year…

Lupin chuckled. "And how's Defense going?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's all right. You're still the best professor we've ever had, though Professor Skura isn't so bad. A little strict and uptight, but he at least teaches us. Would you like to come in for a while?" she asked, gesturing at the room behind her.

"I've actually got to be going. Maybe some other time, perhaps?"

"All right. It was great seeing you again!"

As soon as Lupin was gone, a small golden blur came dashing around the corner (having been released from the body bind Lupin had put on him). Hermione screamed as it pounced up on her, bowling her over completely. Butterscotch, finding Hermione's headband, gave a playful growl and pulled it out of her hair and raced into the common room.

"That's Butterscotch," Harry bubbled happily, still sitting on Hermione's stomach. "He's my new dog."

Inside, screams sounded and Hermione jumped up and ran in, Harry trailing after. The Golden Retriever was prancing about the room, a stuffed dragon in his mouth with Draco chasing him and Ron watching in amusement. "GIVE IT BACK!" Draco yelled, lunging for the dog and missing. "IT ISN'T YOURS!"

Butterscotch dropped the animal and wagged his tail, waiting for Draco to get off the floor and chase him again. The enraged Slytherin, did so, and merely fell flat on the floor once again as the dog nimbly moved to the left. Losing interest in the dragon, Butterscotch trotted into the fireplace and began to roll around in the ashes, black clouds spreading over the room.

Hermione, thinking quickly, blew the smoke out of the common room, but not soon enough for it to leave completely. Soot stained the walls and covered the carpeting and occupants in the room. Especially Butterscotch. The once golden colored dog was now a dusty gray.

Before Draco could grab the pup and stop it from wreaking any more havoc, Butterscotch sped away and jumped on top of the sofa, leaving dirty paw prints all over the material. Grabbing one of the rainbow colored pillows, Butterscotch ripped it to pieces, feathers floating down.

"AAAACCCCCHHHHHOOOOOO!" Ron sneezed, as one of the feathers landed on his nose. The puppy, hearing the noise, leaped up on Ron and proceeded to lick the redhead all over his face.

"GOTCHA!" Draco cried, picking Butterscotch up in his arms. The dog immediately began to lick the blond, tongue making traces in the soot that covered Draco from head to toe.

"He likes you," Harry giggled. "Isn't he great?"

"Uhhh…" Hermione glanced around the room, looking at the damage. "He's probably just a little excited to be here…he'll calm down. We should probably give him a bath, huh?"

"Yup," Harry agreed. "I think Draco needs a bath too. He's all dirty."

"And that's my fault?" Draco grumbled, holding the dog away from him.

"Hermione! Ron's guardians are here," called Leviculus. "Shall I let them in?"

"Please do!"

Lavender and Terry entered a second later, blinking at the soot. "Did you decide to redecorate?" Terry asked.

"No," Hermione sighed. "Harry's new puppy got in the fireplace…and as you can tell, made quite a mess. How are your parents?" she queried.

"Just fine," Lavender smiled. "My mom is being released tomorrow morning and Terry's dad tonight. Their injuries looked worse then the doctors thought they were."

"I'm so glad," the Gryffindor cheered, hugging Lavender.

"Looks like you'll have your hands full…we'll take Ron and get going. Did he cause any trouble?"

Hermione and Draco exchanged glances. "As a matter of fact, he did. Here," Hermione said, placing a gigantic roll of parchment in Lavender's hands, "is a detailed report. Since breakfast we've had him sitting on the chair, although that didn't even keep him out of trouble. You can decide on his punishment as you wish after you read that. And here," she said, handing her a box, "is something of yours that I believe Ron 'borrowed'."

Lavender glared at Ron and he smiled innocently back. "You are in _big _trouble, Ronald Weasley," she growled. "Now let's go so I can figure out the best way for you to learn your lesson." Terry picked up the pouting child and left, Lavender following.

"Now what?" asked Draco, grimacing as Butterscotch continued to lick his face.

"We go give Butterscotch a bath. Come on Draco, bring him to the bathroom. Harry, come with me and we'll go get some shampoo."

Minutes later, everyone was gathered beside the bathtub, where Draco was holding Butterscotch in as he lathered shampoo in the grimy fur. "Bloody dog," he muttered as the puppy bit his hand while he tried to remove the collar. Hermione and Harry watched with interest as Draco continued to struggle with the collar before it finally slid off.

Just as he was preparing to dump a bucket of water over the puppy's head, Butterscotch jumped free of Draco's grasp and leaped out of the tub. Unfortunately, as he jumped out, his back legs collided with Draco and the Slytherin tumbled over the edge of the bathtub and into the water.

"Now Draco's getting a bath," Hermione laughed. Reaching over, she picked up the shampoo bottle and started to lather it into Draco's hair.

"Cut that out!" he growled, trying to shove her hands away.

"Come over here and help, Harry," Hermione grinned.

"But what about Butterscotch?"

"He's mostly clean and locked up in the room…nothing too bad can happen." So, Harry held out his hands and Hermione squirted more shampoo on them. By now, Draco had stopped moving and sat still, sighing at random moments and throwing death glares at a bar of soap, pretending it was Hermione.

"Close your eyes," Hermione instructed. "Harry, dump that water over his head." The small child complied and Draco let out a howl as freezing cold water hit him.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" he snarled, whirling around.

"Remember when I had a cold shower because of you? Now you get a small taste of that….one more bucket Harry."

"Oh no you don't…" Draco stood up and made to get out, but Hermione pushed him back down. But as she was doing so, she slipped on some of the water Butterscotch had splattered on the floor and fell in with Draco. "Mind getting off me?" he snapped, Hermione sitting on his stomach.

A gasp sounded from the door and Hermione turned to look since Draco couldn't see over the edge of the tub. "Hermione! Draco! You chose now? And in front of Harry? Aren't you two being naughty…"

Hermione's face turned bright red. "That is not what is happening! I fell in!"

Ginny smirked. "Sure you did."

"Ginny!" Harry squealed, racing over and wrapping his arms about her legs.

"And hello to you too," she smiled. "What are you all doing in here?"

"Trying to give Butterscotch a bath. But he got away so Hermione and I gave Draco a hair wash instead. But Hermione just fell in."

"Giving Draco a hair wash?" she repeated. "God, I wish I'd gotten here sooner. Although this will still make a decent picture." Pulling a camera from her book bag, she snapped a photo of a mortified looking Hermione, still bright red, sitting on a pouting Draco's stomach.

"GIVE THAT CAMERA TO ME RIGHT NOW, GINNY!" Hermione shrieked, scrambling out of the tub and racing towards her friend.

"Nope, it's mine," Ginny said, placing it back into her bag before Hermione could grab it. A look of puzzlement crossed her face a second later. "Who's Butterscotch?"

"Harry's new puppy. He picked him up in Diagon Alley today."

"You guys went to Diagon Alley?"

"No, just Harry did. A certain red headed troublemaker informed him that if he didn't get ice cream he'd die…and Harry decided to use Draco's floo powder to go. And he bought Butterscotch…but Lupin was keeping an eye on him. Dumbledore made sure Harry was safe."

"Butterscotch wouldn't happen to be a gold color, would he?" Ginny asked, twirling a strand of hair nervously about her finger.

"That's why I named him Butterscotch," Harry piped up. "He's gold like butterscotch."

"Well, the thing is," Ginny giggled uneasily, "is when I came in, since I still know the password, something went past me…and it looked gold."

"You mean that _thing _is loose in the castle," Draco cried, sitting up in the water.

"That's the general idea…"

"Butterscotch might get lost!" Harry sniffled, eyes watering up. "He'll get scared."

"It's not really the dog I'm worried about," Hermione said softly. "Let me go get changed into some dry clothes and then we'll all go look for him…we can only hope we aren't too late."

The group left a few minutes later, Hermione dragging a reluctant Draco behind her, the Slytherin protesting he didn't want to be anywhere near that _thing. _As the quartet rounded the corridor, they could only openly stare at the damage in the hall.

Students were sitting on the ground, slobber over their faces and ripped up books and broken ink bottles on the floor. "What happened?" Hermione asked, kneeling down next to a rather dazed Pansy who was clutching Neville to her like a teddy bear.

"A dog," she said, rising slowly to her feet and grimacing. "It just came out of nowhere and started to jump up on everybody…and destroy almost everything in sight. Blaise is off chasing it for the possession of his wand."

"He wasn't this bad when I got him," Harry whispered.

"You mean that's your dog?" Pansy cried in alarm. "I thought they weren't allowed at Hogwarts!"

"Dumbledore made an exception…" Draco muttered.

"Can we help look for him?" asked Neville, looking adoringly up at Pansy. "I liked the doggy."

Pansy looked at Neville's pleading face, to the students rising from the ground and nursing their bumps and bruises, back to Neville, then to the ripped up books, back to Neville, and sighed. "All right," she sighed. "Let's go help them find the dog."

"Thank you," Harry said softly.

"It's no problem," she said warmly.

The new group set off the hall, simply looking where there was damage and going in that direction. Ripped tapestries, pieces of armor, and scratched up stone were all rather good signs. In the distance, they could hear faint barking and cries of alarm.

"Does everyone have their wands?" asked Hermione, staring grimly down the corridor where the noises seemed to be issuing from.

"Yes," Draco and Pansy chorused.

"Kids?"

"Got him," Pansy replied, picking Neville up and setting him on her hip.

"Then let's go," shouted Hermione, taking off with Harry riding on her side. Racing down the hall, the group emerged into a landing on top of one of the staircases where Butterscotch was happily jumping up and licking Lavender, who had appeared on the scene.

Hermione grabbed the collar from Draco's hand (he'd been carrying it around) and pulled it over Butterscotch's head while the dog was busy trying to grab Lavender's hair band. Removing the leash from her waist, where she'd tied it like a belt, Hermione clipped it on and dragged Butterscotch backwards.

"Butterscotch!" Harry cheered, running over and hugging his puppy. "I'm so happy you're okay!" He broke into laughter a second later as the dog scrambled on top of him and began to lather his face with kisses.

"I am so sorry Hermione!" cried Lavender, pulling her friend into a hug. "And you too Draco!"

"What?" the Slytherin asked, slightly puzzled as Lavender pulling him into a hug as well.

"About the dolls. I read the report on the way back to our room, which we still haven't gotten to, and I'm so sorry! I didn't know he'd take them! Professor Trelawney"- here Hermione snorted but otherwise kept quiet- "gave them to me to practice with. And in the instructions it says that if the user does not like to be controlled, they simply have to say oblittero. It'll cancel the effect immediately and the doll won't do anything. I don't even know how he got in my trunk! I always keep it locked!"

While Pansy, Ginny and Hermione attempted to console Lavender, Blaise, Terry and Draco stood off to one side, conversing about quidditch, Ron snuck over to Harry, who was now sitting quietly next to his pet and scratching Butterscotch behind the ears.

"Did you get in trouble?" Harry asked as Ron sat down next to him.

"Loads," he grinned. "Lavender told me no dessert for a week but she doesn't know about the stuff stashed away in my bedroom. And I'm supposed to sit quietly during lessons, but they really can't make me. And I have to help clean the common room every night." Here he made a face. "I don't know how I'll get out of that one though."

Neville cam over and sat next to them quietly, petting Butterscotch who licked him upside his face.

"You shouldn't have taken them from her trunk," Harry reprimanded. "If I'd done that at my house, I would've been in really big trouble."

"Would your family not give you dessert?"

Harry shook his head. "They wouldn't give me anything. And they'd lock me up in my cupboard."

Ron's mouth dropped in horror. "You can come back to my house," he declared. "My mum would never do that! You can be like my brother! And we could team up on Fred and George!"

"My gran would let you come too!" Neville stated.

"Really? I could come stay with you guys?"

"Yup. I'm sure my mum wouldn't mind."

"Nor my gran."

"You're the best!" Harry exclaimed, hugging Ron and Neville tightly.

"Harry…can't…breathe," Ron gasped, Neville, nodding his head in agreement.

"Oh, sorry," Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Hey! Let's slide down the banisters!" suggested Ron. "I used to do that all the time at my house before it broke."

"It broke?" Harry repeated, looking over the edge of the landing at the _very _far way to the ground.

"Yeah, but this is stone. It shouldn't break. Come on? Do you want to try? It's really fun!"

"Is it dangerous? Can we get hurt?"

"Nah. As long as you put a leg on each side of the railing you'll be fine. I'll go down first if you want and you an follow."

"I'm scared of heights," said Neville softly. "I'm just going to go play with Butterscotch." The brown haired child edged away from the banister and sat down next to the puppy, petting him once more.

"Okay," Harry agreed slowly. "So it'll be like a roller coaster kinda, right? I went on one once because Uncle Vernon said Dudley needed something soft so he wouldn't hurt himself on the metal doors when we turned."

"What's a roller coaster?"

Draco, who heard the word, said, "a muggle amusement park ride that goes fast." With a pointed glare at Hermione he added, "very fast."

"Oh," Ron said. "Yeah, kinda like that I guess."

Digging one foot into the rough stone, Ron pulled himself on top of the smooth part and sat down. "See that curve right there?" he asked, pointing at a bend in the railing. "Wait until I get there then push off. Remember to grip the banister…you don't want to fall off."

Inching his way down, Ron slid down the incline and steadily began to go faster. With a cry of excitement, he went down a vertical drop and continued on his way. Harry was carefully positioning himself to go down when he heard Ron's excited yell…so did everyone else.

"Harry! No! Don't-" Hermione cried as Harry kicked off.

"Oh my God!" screamed Lavender, pointing at the staircase Harry and Ron had chosen to ride. "It's moving!"

"Don't panic," Terry advised, before he began to yell and run in circles. Lavender burst into sobs and covered her eyes.

"Levitate them!" cried Pansy, fumbling for her wand. Blaise shot his off but the spell missed, the children going too fast. "Move!" she shrieked, shooting off her own spell, also falling short.

A split-second later, Ron was airborne, flying hundreds of feet above the ground and rapidly descending. Hermione shot off slowing spells, all falling short of the plummeting redhead, now screaming in terror rather then excitement.

Far beneath Ron, a certain Potions professor was walking when he heard screaming, rapidly growing louder. Looking up, he saw a large black and red object before Ron fell exactly on top of Snape, knocking the teacher to the floor. Unfortunately, the group above couldn't see Snape and instead heard only a loud thud.

"HE HIT!" shrieked Pansy. "OH MERLIN! HE ACTUALLY FELL!"

Harry flew off the banister a moment later, and plunged downward as well. Snape, who was blinking open his eyes after the jarring impact, looked up just in time for Harry to fall on top of Ron, squishing the poor professor more. The group on the top of the stairs sprinted down, each praying that they two children would be okay.

'_If he lived, I swear I'll break off his punishment and give him as many desserts as his stomach can hold. Just let him be okay.'_

'_If Harry or Ron died I will never forgive myself. If you could just make them be alive, I promise to purposely fail my next test and lose my perfect score.'_

'_Bloody idiots. I think Ron got stupider when he turned younger. If you both didn't die, by some miracle, I'll quit quidditch for a month and won't touch a broomstick for two.'_

'_I promise to never bite another living soul if they're both alive. Please, please, please, let them be alive.'_

'_WAAAAAHHHHHH! They can't be dead! I just met them! Why didn't I stop them?'_

'_Ruff?'_

'_I am so glad Pansy and I got the smart one of the three. But those two better be okay…I don't want to get thrown out.'_

'_They're okay…calm down. Oh Merlin! You better make them be okay! Otherwise I'll kick your bloody ass when (and if) I ever meet you. You hear me?'_

'_One of them is my boyfriend. The other is my brother. If one of them died…oh man, there's going to be hell to pay.'_

While the frantic group ran overhead, Ron shook his head to clear it of the black spots. His eyes lighted on Snape, who was just starting to regain consciousness. "Oh Professor Scary!" he cried, "you saved us! We're alive!"

Harry sat gingerly up and slid off of Ron to the floor. "Thank you, Sir," he said softly, gratitude clear in his emerald eyes.

"Oh my God! You're okay! They're alive! Calm down everyone!" yelled Hermione, who was leading the procession. Ron slid off of Snape as well and the teacher carefully rose to his feet, wincing at the movement. "Thank you so much, Professor!" she sobbed, clutching Snape in a hug and breaking down completely. "Thank you!"

Snape patted her awkwardly on the back, still slightly dazed and not fully comprehending he was comforting a Gryffindor. Draco gently pulled her off of Snape and she latched onto him instead, now Draco the one stuck with the job of comforting.

"They're fine," he whispered, rubbing circle on her back. "Calm down Hermione, they're safe. Nothing bad happened."

Slowly, she nodded and wiped her eyes, though she still kept leaning against Draco. Harry came over and Draco picked him up in one arm, hugging the child to him, so Harry was now between both guardians. After Draco was certain Hermione had calmed down enough, he went over to his uncle, who was still teetering a little bit.

"You okay, Uncle Sev?" he asked, taking one of Snape's arms and placing it around his shoulders. "I'll help you get back to your office…I think you need to lie down." Snape nodded, little potions bottles still dancing around his head that only he could see. "I'm taking Uncle Sev to his office," Draco announced. "Hermione, why don't you and Harry head up to the room? I'll meet you in a few minutes."

Hermione gave a small nod and after hugging Ron tightly, having to check for herself that he was all right, made her way upstairs, Harry clutched to her and Butterscotch following. When Draco joined them a few minutes later, he found Hermione sitting on the couch, still hugging Harry and the dog curled up by Hermione's feet.

"I think you can let him go," Draco smiled, coming to sit down next to both of them. "How are you doing, Harry?" he asked, turning his attention to the child.

"A little sore," he admitted. "But Professor Snape saved me and Ron. I'm glad he was there…I was really scared."

"We were really scared too."

"I think I'm going to do some reading," Hermione announced. "How bout a story, Harry? That should help calm us down."

"Sure," he agreed, looking up at Hermione.

"Would it be all right if I went out and flew around for a bit?" asked Draco. '_I was just kidding about that promise thing…me, not fly? Never!'_

"Yeah, go ahead. You could use a break."

Draco smiled and disappeared into his room, and exited a moment later with is Nimbus 2001 in hand. With a wave good-bye, he exited the room.

Harry and Hermione began a story but the child noticed how Hermione seemed to stop between words until she finally stopped talking. Looking up at her face, he realized she'd fallen asleep. "She must be really tired," he mused, scrambling out of her lap and gently easing her back onto a pillow. Running over to a cabinet, he took out a blanket and then brought it back and draped it over Hermione.

Going into his room, the child dug through his trunk until he found what he'd been wanting to test out for quite a while. The wood gleamed up at him, the gold, cursive writing on the handle shining brightly. "I wonder if it can really fly…" Putting on his jacket, Harry shouldered the broom (which happened to be about twice his height) and set off. But when he tried to get through the portrait, it wouldn't budge.

Backtracking, Harry went over to the large window that overlooked Hagrid's house. Lifting the latch, he was surprised when the window swung open. And to aid him, long branches of ivy were twined around the windowsill all the way to the ground.

Tentatively climbing out (a little miffed of heights after the earlier episode that day) Harry made his way down, the Firebolt clutched in one hand and the other gripping the vine. A few tense minutes later, his feet found the ground and Harry heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing the quidditch pitch, he made his way over, dragging the broomstick behind him.

Draco dismounted from his broom after a series of flips, blood pumping. Surveying the pitch, he was relieved that it was empty…having the court to himself was quite a rare occurrence. The blond squinted as a small figure entered and began trudging to the middle of the field.

Silver eyes widened in recognition. It was Harry! And he was preparing to mount the Firebolt! Jumping back on his broom, Draco sped across the stadium towards the tiny figure, now swinging one leg over the broomstick. He just managed to grab the very end bristles of the broom before he was suddenly swooped off his own broom and flying through the air, much faster then he'd ever experienced.

Harry shrieked in surprise at the speed and gripped the handle for dear life, eyes closed tightly. Draco gasped as he realized the were heading straight for the lake. Reaching forward, he managed to grasp a little more of the broom and then flipped his body to the right and they thankfully turned and headed back for the castle.

But as soon as Draco thought they were in the clear, he realized they weren't even close. Harry, in his fright, was leaning forward on the broom and they were going in a vertical dive straight for the ground! Once more Draco managed to maneuver the broom from his rather bad position.

For the next twenty minutes, they continued to do dips and twirls, Harry never noticing at all that Draco was on behind him. That is until Harry leaned back on the broom and it started to go incredibly fast in reverse. "HARRY!" Draco screamed, the child's ear now a little closer to his mouth.

Harry turned, and blinked in surprise. But his mouth formed an 'o' of horror as he looked beyond Draco. Draco turned to see what had made the child suddenly seem even more terrified then before. His answer? A wall of Hogwarts approaching at rapid speed straight behind them.

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" he muttered to himself. A second later, Draco slammed against the stone and plummeted to the ground, dragging the broom and Harry down with him. He fell to the ground with a crash, Harry landing on top of him.

Quickly, the child scrambled off, face a mask of horror. "Draco?" he whispered, touching the Slytherin's face. "Don't move, okay? I'll go get the nurse!"

Racing off, Harry burst into the castle and charged up the steps to the Hospital wing; the one place in Hogwarts he knew how to get to by memory. "Mrs. Nurse!" he called, charging into the room. "You have to help! He's hurt really bad!"

"Who's hurt?" she asked gently, coming out of her office.

"Draco! He crashed into a wall! It was all my fault! I didn't think the broom would actually fly!"

"Draco again?" she sighed. "He and Miss Granger must be competing for who can get hurt or sick the most. Why don't you bring me to him? I'll see what I can do…"

Harry eagerly led the way out the wall where Draco had fallen, where by now a crowd had gathered. "Out of the way," Pomfrey ordered, pushing students out of her way. "And give him some room to breathe, for Merlin's sake!" Kneeling down next to the unconscious Slytherin she diagnosed him. "Suffering from a broken back, injury to the head, and bruising. Nothing I can't fix."

Whipping out her wand, the mediwitch cast a soft blue glow on Draco, the boy's face becoming less pained. "That healed the bones," she noted with pride. "But I do see at least a day in the hospital wing for Mr. Malfoy." Levitating Draco, she entered the school with Harry walking next to her and dragging his Firebolt and Draco's Nimbus 2001, which a student had kindly brought off the pitch.

As soon as Draco had been placed in a bed, Hermione came running in, face frantic. "There you are!" she cried, scooping Harry into her arms. "What happened?"

"I tried to fly…I didn't think it would actually go. And Draco got on the end of the broom…and he got hurt."

Hermione glanced at the Slytherin, eyes closed in a potion induced slumber. "Ah! There you are Miss Granger." Pomfrey came out of the back room, with several bottles in hand. "I was wondering when you were going to show up. Mr. Malfoy will be in here for about a day…he broke his back and I'm worried about a head injury. But he should be fine," she assured, seeing Hermione's face fill with fear. "Had a broom accident from what I understand."

"But he'll be okay?"

"Yes, after some rest."

"Then we'd better get going, huh Harry?" Giving Draco's hand a squeeze, Hermione looked around the room before she almost dropped Harry. "Oh no…"

"What?" Harry asked, also looking around the room.

"I brought Butterscotch with me," she said softly. "I didn't want him to ruin the room while we were gone. But he isn't here now."

"He's lost again?"

"You could say that." Barking was heard down the corridor accompanied with several cries of alarm. Hermione sighed. "Here we go again."

**Author's Notes:**

First things first. I feel like crap. I caught my dad/twin's cold (can't really tell who's) and I'm blowing my nose, sucking cough drops, and am huddled up in a blanket. All in all, I feel terrible. And then I had an English project that I worked on for 12 hours straight yesterday and then a few hours today and some during the week...so about 24 hours. Plus I've got some other homework I've gotta do still...I was thinking about not updating, but since I didn't update last week I figured I had to do so this week. So if the chapter wasn't up to par, I ish very very sorry.

One note on the last chapter. In the line 'But back to his current ice cream…finding ice cream for Ron.' the first ice cream should be the word mission. :P Told ya I didn't proofread.

Also, if you ever need to contact me and talk to me in person, go to the Dangerous Liasons site (link on my profile). There's a tagboard and I'm IcyPanther there. Of course, don't clutter up Ree's board with stuff (she's the owner of the site) but if you ever have a desperate question, you can get to me there!

Now, onto my stupdendous announcement/idea! I'm quite curious to see what all of you can come up with for PC. So I've made this challange. Read down for the rules and regulations.

**About: **This idea is where you write a story for Parenting Class. It can focus on any character you like! The only requirement is it must be your own work; no stealing from anyone else or using ideas already written. If this interests you, continue reading.

**Rules: **The rules are as follows. You **must **stick to them if you want to submit! Otherwise your entry will not be accepted.  
1. All entries must be 1200 words or less. I don't want the readers to spend all day reading them. :P  
2. The time era you can write these in is when Harry and Ron are little. You may **not **write about any events with Hermione as a little kid. In this era, you can focus on D/Hr, H/G, a specific little kid (like Terry or Neville), or any one you'd like. Even teachers (as long as they're their proper ages unless you're doing Professor Sprout as a little kid in Chapter Two)  
3. Your idea cannot turn any characters into little kids unless they are them currently. No little Ginny's, mini professors, or anything of the sort, kay?  
4. You must write about **one **event. For example, take this chapter. If you were to write one event, you'd either select the broomstick scene, the Butterscotch scene, or the banister. Only take one!  
5.All entries must be a PG-13 rating or lower. I don't want anything 'explicit' published on it. If I do get an entry like that, I will not put it up.  
6. No changing pairings. I don't want to see any D/H or B/G, kay? I made the pairings like this for a reason. If you would like to partner Ron with Pansy though, be my guest. n.n  
7. This must be **your **idea entirely. Copying is wrong and for cheaters, not honest people like you! -wink-

**Submitting: **Entires are due by March 19th, 2005. You can e-mail them to me at IcyPanther at yahoo .com (I can't put the at sign in :P) as either an attatchement or just the writing. But please, in the subject put something about PC, your username, or the contest. Please put your name on the entry! Otherwise I don't know who to give crediti too. I keep getting virus's sent to me by unknown people and I don't want to chance accidentally deleting your entry, savvy?

**Voting:** On March 20th, all of the entires will be on top of the real chapter. (I think that'd be chappie 25). All will be marked with a letter (A,B,C, etc.) and in your review you post which entry you liked the most. I'd like to ask that you don't vote for your own entry unless of course you think it's the absolute best. Majority wins. If there's a tie, I'll decided based on which I liked best.

**Prize: **Now, to get you motivated. The winner of this contest will be announced on March 26th, 2005. They will be displayed at the top of the page with a large dedication and some remarks people might have had about their entry. They will also be the proud owner of the **one and only _Ballerina Snape Plushie _**to treasure forever.


	24. Past and Present Events

**Disclaimer: One week, seven days, 168 hours, or however you want to say it have gone by since I last updated. And I can assure you; absolutely nothing has changed concerning the ownership of Harry Potter.**

**Parenting Class**

**Past and Present Events**

**Fanfics for PC received: None, zilch, notta, zero… T.T**

**Note to ya angst luvers…I think you'll like this chapter. **

After about two hours of chasing the rather hyper puppy around Hogwarts, Hermione and Harry had managed to get him back in the common room, both humans exhausted but the animal still going full blast.

Currently, Hermione was sprawled out on the couch and Harry flopped on the floor, both watching as Butterscotch tore around the common room with a pillow in his mouth, too tired to stop the dog.

"I didn't mean for him to be this much trouble," Harry apologized softly.

"It's not your fault," Hermione sighed. "My cousins got a dog like this a long time ago…and it was ever wilder; if that could even be considered possible. He's just a puppy…he'll grow out of it later."

"So you're not mad?"

"No, of course not! Why would I be mad?"

Harry shrugged and absentmindedly and turned his attention to playing with some of the carpeting fuzz. "I'd better get some homework done," Hermione mused to herself. "After all, we do have classes tomorrow." Straightening up from the couch, she headed for her bedroom and came back out lugging her book bag. "Runes first you think?" she asked the child. "Then I can help Draco with his…he isn't very good."

In fact, neither Draco nor Harry were any good at Ancient Runes. When the class courses had been switched so that all three partners were in the same ones, some changes had happened that neither boy had liked. Hermione had been put in Divination to her misfortune and Harry and Draco had gotten stuck in Runes. And in truth, neither had any idea what to do.

When Harry was allowed to take the class, seeing as a five year old couldn't, he was convinced that the marks on the stones were all just dots and chips and nothing could be interpreted. So he spent the entire class counting dots and saying how depending on the number was how long the rock was alive.

Draco was a bit better…he at least got the concept that the markings were symbols and letters. But he couldn't get it through his head that different languages had been carved; they weren't all from one culture. And because of that, if he saw an upside down 'u' he presumed on every rock it meant the same thing.

But fortunately that was the extent of the changes to their schedules. All three were still in Herbology, D.A.D.A., Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic and Care of Magical Creatures. '_And Harry's having his first class with Hagrid tomorrow,' _Hermione thought, opening her Runes textbook. '_I do hope Hagrid doesn't bring anything too dangerous…I don't think Harry is going to take as well to a dragon as Draco did. Maybe a unicorn or something tame?'_

Positioning her text next to a small bit of stone that the professor had given each student to translate. Eyeing the piece, which was only about four inches tall and two around, Hermione knew that she'd be at the table for at least an hour. Even though it was incredibly small, she'd have to sort through several runes to find out which language it was in. And after that she'd have to translate the entire thing, which would definitely take a while.

Harry settled himself next to her, watching as she carefully consulted the ancient looking book before looking back down at the stone, constantly picking it up and turning it to look at a symbol better. "It's Greek," she grinned about twenty minutes later, looking at her discovery with pride.

Taking out a sheet of blank parchment, she carefully began to copy down every symbol on the stone vertically with plenty of room to the right so she could jot down the translation. Harry sat patiently next to her during the entire process, slowly growing sleepier as the clock across the room ticked softly, the scritch of Hermione's quill and Butterscotch's slow breathing showing the puppy had at last tired himself out and also fallen asleep.

Elbow sliding forward on the table, Harry prepared to rest his head on his arm when the sound of breaking glass sounded. Jumping back, Harry watched in horror as the ink from the pot he'd broke spread all across Hermione's almost finished translation, ruining it beyond repair.

"I…I…" he stammered, backing slowly away from Hermione, fearful of what her reaction would be. Before Hermione could say or do anything, Harry tore from the room and into his own. Looking wildly around for a cupboard and not finding one, he opted instead the wardrobe. Throwing it open, he clambered in and pulled the door shut behind him.

Huddled down next to a pair of boots for the winter months and a spare robe at his back, Harry listened intently for any sound of Hermione, his heart thudding rapidly against his ribcage, emerald eyes wide in panic. He hadn't meant to do that…honest. Hermione was probably going to punish him…what would it be? No food for a day? Clean the whole house (or in this case the whole common room?) Cook all the meals? Lock him in the wardrobe for a while? None of them really sounded too appealing.

He heard her enter the room, her footsteps soft on the carpeting, slow and careful. "Harry?" she whispered, turning around in a circle, eyes scanning for the child. "It's okay," she comforted, "I'm not mad at you."

Harry still stayed silent, not wanting to go out and face her. Hermione had always been nice to him and now he ruined her homework that she'd been working so hard on. And he hurt Draco because he tried to fly. And Professor Scary when he landed on him. And he scared everyone when he went to Diagon Alley. All he did was make people sad and unhappy. Even if his real family didn't like him, at least he never felt as guilty as this when he did something wrong.

The small shaft of light that had been coming in through the crack between the wardrobe doors disappeared as Hermione stepped in front of it. Shivering, Harry pulled into the deepest corner of the dresser as Hermione slowly opened the doors. "It's okay," she murmured, dropping down to her knees so she closer to Harry's height. "I'm not angry with you…you can come out."

Timidly, Harry inched his way forward, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor so he didn't have to look at her. "Why are you in there?" she asked quietly, wanting to reach out and hug the boy but afraid he'd pull away.

"I couldn't find a cupboard," he replied, voice so soft she had to strain to hear it.

"A cupboard?" she repeated. She knew from earlier that Harry slept in a cupboard because his relatives didn't want him sleeping on a bed, but it wasn't even close to bed time. "Why were you looking for a cupboard?"

"It's safe there," he whispered. "When Uncle Vernon locks me in I don't have to worry about getting in anyone's way and then I can't get in trouble."

"He locks you in?" Hermione queried, voice beginning to grow slightly angry.

"Only when I do something wrong," Harry said quickly, very frightened of the rage Hermione was building up.

"And what," she asked, voice dangerously soft, "would be considered wrong?"

"Making Dudley sad," he said, "or getting him angry. Not washing all of the dishes perfectly. Forgetting to dust the top shelf in the dining room…stuff like that," Harry whispered.

"He locks you in for that?" she cried, voice growling louder. "How dare he? That…that…" Taking a deep breath, Hermione refrained herself from saying exactly what she thought and instead turned her energy back to the child, who was cowering slightly. "It's all right…I'm not angry with you. I'm mad at your uncle."

"But I ruined your homework," Harry murmured. "And I hurt Draco and Professor Scary. I should be punished."

"No," Hermione answered firmly. "You're just a kid, Harry. Only five. You don't need to be that responsible or mature yet. You should be happy…playing games and laughing. Having fun with your friends. Don't worry over little things like my homework; they don't matter. What does matter is your happiness. And that's all I want you to be, okay?"

"But I hurt Draco and Professor Scary," Harry insisted. "If I hurt Dudley, Uncle Vernon wouldn't feed me and lock me up!"

"He…what?" Hermione ground out, flames once more dancing in her eyes. "I'm going to go kill that bloody uncle of yours!"

"Don't!" Harry cried, latching onto Hermione's arm. "I don't want you to go to jail! Please don't hurt Uncle Vernon!"

The fury etched into Hermione's face died as she looked down at the small child, crying softly and gripping her arm. "I won't," she assured, picking up Harry and giving him a tight hug. "I don't want you to hurt anymore."

They stayed like that for a while, Hermione rocking Harry gently back and fourth, forcing the anger she felt at Harry's family out of her mind and concentrating solely on making the small boy feel better. "How bout we go visit Draco?" she suggested. "I'm sure that if he's awake he'd like some company."

Harry nodded his agreement and the two left, after making sure Butterscotch was safely in the cage Hermione had conjured with a bowl of water and his toys. "Don't worry," Hermione reassured Harry, as the boy looked at his puppy with sorrowful eyes, "as soon as he learns some basic manners and not to chew everything, we won't have to cage him."

The two arrived at the Hospital Wing a few minutes later to hear the stern voice of Pomfrey ordering a disobedient Slytherin back into his bed. "You broke your back, Mr. Malfoy, and I refuse to let you leave! And you miraculously managed to _again _hurt your head! If you don't like still I'll put you in a body bind!"

"Hello Madam Pomfrey," Hermione greeted, stepping into the room with a grin. "Is someone being a bad patient?"

"Ah, hello Miss Granger and Harry," the nurse said, smiling at the little boy who in turn gave a shy smile back. "Mayhap you could talk some sense into Mr. Malfoy or at least keep him lying still?"

"We'll try," Hermione laughed. "Come on Harry. Let's make sure that Draco stays in bed where he belongs."

"You're not my mother," Draco pouted, glaring at Hermione. The Slytherin was dressed in fresh white pants that the Hospital Wing was famous for and his whole torso was wrapped in bandages. His forehead had another bandage wrapped about it and a large bruise could be seen on the back of his right shoulder where he'd collided mostly with the wall.

Harry stared at Draco in dismay, guilt overwhelming him. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

Draco gave Harry a smile. "It's all right, Harry. I know you didn't mean it, right?" Harry nodded his head quickly, relieved that Draco didn't appear to be mad.

"How long are you going to be here for?" Hermione asked, staring at Draco with concern.

"That bloody witch is trying to make me stay for the night."

"Watch your language," Hermione reprimanded. "There are children present. But the whole night?"

"That's what _she _says," Draco said, glaring at Pomfrey. "But I feel fine."

"Good," Hermione grinned. "I brought you some of your homework and since you feel up to it, time to get started."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. I won't have you falling behind in your studies."

"It's Sunday! I don't do homework on Sunday!"

"And why not?"

"Because…because…"

"Because why?" Hermione prompted.

"Because it's Sunday!"

Harry laughed softly as Hermione shook her head. "Draco," she said slowly, voice sweeter then honey, "why do you not do your homework on Sunday?"

"Because it's my day of rest," he said stubbornly, folding his arms across his chest. "So there."

"Then it looks like I'll take this," she smirked, taking Sparkles off of the nightstand. "After all, it's work before play. And if you don't want to do the work, then you don't get to have fun. Harry, be a dear and hand me those quidditch books."

"Hey! Don't touch those!" Draco cried, making a wild lunge for the books that had just been transferred to Hermione.

"Naughty boy," she said, shaking her finger in his face. "Madam Pomfrey said no moving." Shoving him back on the bed, Hermione picked Harry up and set the child on Draco's stomach to hold the blond down. "That should work," she smiled, proud of her own handiwork.

"You're lucky I don't have any bruises there," Draco grumbled. To Harry he said, "Don't move too much, kay? I'm still quite sore."

"Do you want me to get off?" asked Harry, already preparing to slide down.

"You can get off if Draco promises not to move," Hermione declared.

"I promise not to move," Draco grumbled, relieved when Harry jumped down to the floor. "But seriously Hermione, can't you let up a little? I'm not on my deathbed here."

"But you're hurt," she insisted. "Now, I'll read you a passage from History of Magic and you take notes."

"I thought you didn't want me moving."

"Moving your hand will be okay. Harry, come over here and we'll read together. I'll start and you go at the second paragraph, okay?"

"Okay," Harry said brightly.

"Got your parchment and ink, Draco?"

"Yes, Mother."

Clearing her throat, Hermione began. "Dragon War of 1682. In the beginning of 1681 the Lion dragons, more commonly know as the Chinese Fireball, were hunted almost until extinction because Chinese wizards hunted the eggs without mercy for their spell casting. In fear, the Fireballs fled their native homes to seek shelter elsewhere. Your turn Harry," she smiled, passing the book over.

"The Fireballs found the home of the Swe…Sweed…"

"Swedish," Hermione corrected.

"Swedish Short-Snouts who had been living in the App…apple…how do you say that, Hermione?"

"Appalachian," she smiled.

"Appalachian Mountains," Harry continued. "These dragons were being pooked? Is that right?"

"Poached."

"Poached for their skin; which made gloves and shields. The Short-Snouts agreed to try and help the Fireballs if they would help them."

"I'll take it back from here," Hermione grinned. "Excellent reading Harry; where on earth did you learn?"

"From books," he said softly. "I like to read…but not as much as you."

"That's good to hear," remarked Draco, jotting down a final note. "We don't need another Hermione."

"Everyone should read like me," Hermione argued. "If everyone did then we'd all be much smarter. Imagine if you set aside quidditch practice for a week and devoted it to studying. Don't you think you'd do better in classes?"

"That," Draco growled, "isn't even funny. And besides, we're not starting quidditch up until February. So I have been devoting time to my studies."

"But when quidditch rolls around maybe you should cut back on practices. You do want to keep your grades up, don't you?"

"I don't really care."

All of a sudden, Hermione was standing with one hand wrapped around Draco's neck, her hair seeming to crackle with electricity and her eyes sparkling with lightning bolts and had gone mysteriously dark. "You didn't mean that, did you?" she asked, voice venomous.

"No, of course not! I love studying!" Draco squeaked. Hermione settled back down in her seat, all anger vanishing.

"That's good to hear. Shall we continue reading?"

Harry looked at her with fear, afraid she'd electrocute him if he touched her. "Oh don't worry," she laughed. "I just performed the Candeo charm that Professor Flitwick showed us last year. It just made me look like that, like a mask."

Gingerly, Harry reached out and touched Hermione, greatly relieved when he wasn't shocked. And so, the history lesson continued, with Hermione and Harry switching off every few paragraphs.

"Dinner should be soon," Hermione announced, stretching and placing the book on the nightstand. "You must be hungry Harry since we missed lunch. Let's head down, shall we?"

"And here's your meal, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey said, placing a tray of soup and some crackers in front of him. "Eat it all or I won't let you leave tomorrow."

"Can I please leave tonight?" Draco begged. "I feel fine."

"We'll see," the nurse said evasively.

Hermione and Harry left, the Gryffindor snickering as she heard Pomfrey telling Draco that if he didn't stop moving around so much she'd spoon feed him. That would definitely hurt the Slytherin's pride.

Dinner was a peaceful affair, seeing as Ron was up in his room with Lavender and Terry was making a stop to pick up dinner for all three of them. Lavender, despite her promise when she thought Ron had died, had extended his punishment and had decided that for the next two days he would eat dinner upstairs so he couldn't see Harry and Neville and get them in trouble.

As soon as Hermione was satisfied with the amount of food Harry had consumed (she still thought he was too skinny and needed to eat more) they went up to their common room, to find Draco sprawled out on the floor and using Butterscotch as a pillow, Sparkles tight in Draco's grasp.

"It looks like they're finally starting to get along," Hermione observed. "But what is Draco doing back here? I thought he was supposed to stay in the Hospital Wing." Kneeling down next to Draco, she poked him lightly.

Draco yelled and jumped to his feet. "What was that for?"

"What?" Hermione asked, quite confused.

"You hit me!"

"I poked you. If it hurts that bad you should go back to the Hospital Wing. I can't believe she let you out!"

Draco mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'she didn't.'

"SHE WHAT?" Hermione screeched. "Do you mean to say you snuck out of there, Draco Malfoy?"

"She was being a bloody bitch!"

Hermione smacked Draco upside the head and headed for the bathroom, emerging a second later with soap. "Open up," she ordered. "I am completely disgusted with your language…and in front of Harry too!" Wrenching Draco's mouth open, she squirted in the anti-bacterial soap and shut it. "Now swallow."

Draco gagged as Hermione forced him to drink the soap. Turning to look at Harry she said, "Whatever you do, don't ever repeat those words Draco just said. They're bad."

"You're evil," Draco coughed, sitting up and spiting out some bubbles.

"And your mouth was dirty and needed to be cleaned. I don't want to hear you swearing again or there will be more then soap in your mouth. Now, you head straight back for the Hospital Wing."

"I'm fine," the Slytherin whined, flopping down on the couch. "Don't make me go back to that bi-"

Hermione glared.

"-rd," he finished.

"Nice save," she remarked dryly. "Well then, if I can't make you go back I'll take you myself."

"Oh come on!" Draco protested as Hermione cast a levitating charm on him. "Seriously Hermione! Put me down right now!" Hermione ended the spell and Draco fell to the floor. "I didn't mean like that," he muttered, wincing at the impact.

"The only way I won't send you back is if you go to bed right now."

"I'm going, Mother," Draco said sarcastically, heading for his bedroom. "Night," he called over his shoulder before entering his room.

"We should probably go to bed too…it is a school night," Hermione mused.

"Can Butterscotch stay with me?"

"If he behaves."

"He will…come on Butterscotch!" The puppy jumped up and followed his master into his room. When Hermione came back to tuck Harry in a few minutes later, she found the child sound asleep with Butterscotch curled up at the foot of the bed.

"Pleasant dreams," she whispered, tiptoeing out. Peeking into Draco's room, she saw that he was already asleep too, the waterfall he'd had as a child still going strong and preventing the room from going pitch black. Going into her own bedroom, Hermione gratefully collapsed, glad that the day was finally over.

* * *

"_You really think you were safe, didn't you?" the man hissed, ruby eyes glinting in the firelight. "Thought Dumbledore could protect you?"_

"_Who are you?" Harry asked fearfully, backing across the stone floor, the dampness soaking into his pajamas. "What do you want?"_

"_It's so sad," he continued, "that you don't remember any of our past encounters. But I tell you this time, Harry Potter, it will be our last. Because tonight you're going to die."_

"_Get away from me!" Harry cried, pressing a hand to his head, which had begun to pound, the pain increasing in dizzying waves. "Who are you?" he whispered as the wizard knelt in front of him and picked the child up by his neck._

"_Your murderer," he grinned, "and your parent's as well. Too bad their sacrifice was wasted…I'm going to kill you tonight and then you won't be the boy-who-lived any longer…because you'll be dead."_

"_You're the bad wizard!" Harry gasped, kicking his legs and squirming to get out of the iron grasp. "You killed my parents!"_

"_That I did," Voldemort sneered. "And now it's your turn." _

"_Please! Don't," Harry cried. "Hermione! Draco! Help me! Please!" he begged._

"_Goodbye, Harry Potter."_

Butterscotch jumped to his feet and looked at his young master, who was whimpering softly and had both hands wrapped tightly around his throat, his face turning blue. Leaping off the bed, the dog began to howl and paw at the closed bedroom door, that Hermione had shut so the dog couldn't get out.

The Gryffindor came tearing out of her room with Draco on her heels both knowing something was wrong by the frantic barking. Throwing open the door, Hermione literally ran over the dog and flew over to Harry, who by now as an odd shade of purple.

"HE'S SUFFOCATING!" she screamed, attempting to pry Harry's hands away to no avail.

"WAKE HIM UP!" Draco shouted, pointing his wand at Harry. "INUNDANTIA CONSISTO AQUA!" A mad torrent of water burst forth, soaking both Hermione and Harry, but having the effect Draco wanted. With a gasp, Harry sat up in bed, eyes wide with terror.

"It's okay," Hermione whispered, pulling Harry to her and rubbing his back. "It's okay."

The child trembled in her arms, and clung to Hermione like a lifeline. Draco sat himself on the bed next to them and Butterscotch jumped up and gave Harry a lick on his cheek. After a few tense moments, Harry took his face out of Hermione's over large tee shirt and looked around the room, assuring himself he was safe.

Draco conjured an icepack and placed it on the back of Harry's neck, where some large bruising was beginning to appear. "What happened?" Hermione asked softly.

"I…I don't really know," Harry sniffled. "I woke up somewhere else…and the bad wizard was there."

"Voldemort!" Hermione gasped, arms tightening around Harry.

"He said he…wanted to…kill me. And then I woke up here."

"He did try to kill you," Draco said gravely. Looking at Hermione, he asked, "I thought he was protected here. How did he do that?"

"I don't know," the brunette said softly. "We'd best talk to Dumbledore in the morning. I'll stay the night with Harry. I don't want anything like that to happen again."

"Can you stay too Draco?" Harry whispered, looking at the Slytherin hopefully.

"All right. But your bed is soaked," he observed. "Should we go somewhere else?"

"Your room will work," Hermione decided. "I'm going to go get changed; Harry, you go with Draco, kay? I don't want you alone…" Harry nodded and taking a pair of dry pajamas he went with Draco to his room.

Hermione joined them minutes later and scrambled beneath the covers on the other side of Harry. Butterscotch leapt up on the foot of the bed once more and settled down. "You okay?" Hermione asked Harry softly, one of her arms wrapping around him.

Harry nodded sleepily and cuddled closer to Draco and dragged Hermione closer to him. Minutes later, he was sound asleep.

"You need to go to sleep to," Draco advised, seeing Hermione still lying awake with her eyes wide open a few minutes later.

"But I don't want anything to happen to him," she murmured, running her fingers through the unruly black hair. "I already feel so guilty letting what happened earlier happen."

"Neither of us could prevent that. But I'll watch him for now and I'll wake you up in a few hours. I had enough sleep at the Hospital Wing to keep me going for a while."

"You know Draco," she whispered, turning to look at him over Harry's head. "You've really changed…and I'm so glad you did."

"Me too," Draco said softly, a smile tugging at his mouth as he returned the gaze. "Me too."

**Author's Notes:**

Reuploaded due to spelling error in first line and a change on Butterscotch's gender XD And also now for leaving my Line! Line! note XD I feel so dumb

Well, I think I got a good dose of something for everyone in there. A little humor, quite a bit of angst, and then some slight Draco/Hermione. Yup, I'm feeling good about this chapter.

If you look at the top, it lets ya know how many entries have been entered. And there have been none T.T Remember, you must get them into me by this Saturday. If you'd like to send them during the week that'd help a bunch so I can get spell check them and stuff. If I don't get them all till Saturday I'll have quite a bit of proofreading to do :P Also, feel free to email me if you have any questions. n.n

Now, I'm hoping this chapter loads since my compy keeps freezing whenever I go to a new page. So let's wish it luck, shall we? Also b/c of the bloody freeze problem, I'm not going to travel and get the names of the wonderful people who reviewed since I want this to get uploaded. But a huge **gigantic thank you** to all of those who did review! You may recieve your present of a _Butterscotch plushie! _Just make sure the real Butterscotch doesn't come and steal it...

So please please please, if you feel up to it, leave a review! And if you are entering the contest, please send me your fics! I'm so eager to read them! I made one up myself with a little Terry, but I'm not going to post it :P I want to see what all of you can do. I mean, afterall over half of you write your own fics, ne?

Twoquestions that I can remember from memory w/o having to go through pages of stuff.. and one note too.

**Rain-Pyr**- I don't think I'll be working on it nemore till summer break. With PC every sunday and all my classes I don't have time to write it nemore T.T

Questions went something like this...

**When Harry is older will he get to keep Butterscotch?  
**Yup! It should add a bit of excitment to his life...also, dogs are good companions when you want to talk to someone but not have them interrupt. I think he and Butterscotch will have quite a few of those conversations.

**If you were to do this project, would you want your boyfriend or crush to be your partner?  
**Well, I don't havea boyfriend or a crush at the moment. :o I have too much going on in my life for guys, but in answer to the question, if I did have one I would want them to be my partner. Let them expereince my ebilness at a young age and fear me when I grew older :P I wasn't that bad, but I think it would really strengthen the relationship.


	25. Nundus…Those Can’t Be Good

**Disclaimer: As we all know, I don't own Harry Potter nor the following contest entries!**

**Parenting Class**

**Fanfic Contest**

**Rules: Below are all of the entries for the contest. Each are marked with a letter and separated with a line from the next one. Read them all please (it shouldn't take _too _long.) Then, in your review, include which letter you vote for. And please, don't vote for your own entry unless you think it is truly the best piece out there.**

**After the entries is the real chapter; so don't forget to read that!**

**A. **

Hermione woke, feeling extremely refreshed after the night's sleep. She sat up, yawning, and stretched her arms. Rays of sunlight were peeking through the window shades and it was turning out to be a nice sunny day.

She puttered around a bit, looking at the two sleeping boys. Harry's hair was overly messy, as always; it stuck out in every angle imaginable. _'Draco looks positively angelic when he sleeps,' _Hermione thought, snickering to herself. But it was true! With his curtain of blond silky hair falling over a peaceful face, Draco did look rather angelic.

Hermione found, on a counter next to Draco's bed, a small calendar with important events marked on it. Hermione, for want of anything better to do, looked through it lazily. Then she came to today. And she was more than surprised. Because the calendar said that…

It was Draco's birthday today!

Hermione gasped. Why hadn't he told anybody?

She quickly exited the room, racing through the portrait hole and into the corridor. Draco needed a cake, and quickly! Why, that was practically the best part of a birthday. She panted as she ran through the hall at breakneck speed, nearly knocking over a small first year in the process.

The Gryffindor finally reached her destination: the kitchen. She knew, from Harry and Ron' escapades, exactly how to get in. She hurriedly ticked the bright green pear painted on the portrait, and it swung open to reveal hundreds of bustling elves preparing breakfast.

Hermione clutched a stitch in her side as a crush of elves ran eagerly up to her. One was Dobby, she recognized.

"Ah, Miss Granger is coming to the kitchens! What is I getting for you, Miss?" Dobby inquired eagerly. He was wearing a rather strange sock; a bright orange one, and it was on his…head? Hermione turned her thoughts to more pressing things than odd socks worn as headwear.

"Actually, you can do something for me, if that's okay," Hermione said, still attempting to regain her breath.

"Anything for Miss Hermione!"

"Well, you see Dobby, it's Draco's birthday today! Can you make a cake for him so he can have it at breakfast? Please? I had no idea it was his birthday until right now," Hermione explained.

"Oh, of course, that is in order, Miss!" Dobby said happily. "Come, would you like to pick out the type of cake?" Hermione nodded and followed Dobby through the crowd of elves.

"Chocolate or vanilla, Miss Hermione?" Dobby asked.

"Oh? Chocolate, I think," Hermione answered. Chocolate cake happened to be a favorite of hers.

After about half an hour (magically baked cakes took much less time to bake than ordinary muggle ones), the cake was complete to the very last detail.

It was a huge, round rich chocolate cake, completely covered in chocolate icing. On top of the cake, there was a very realistic looking snake in green and red icing, hissing and flicking its tongue about, not unlike a magical picture. There were also the words, spelled out in neat green icing: _Happy Birthday, Draco!_

Hermione looked down at the cake, smiling. She and Dobby added the appropriate amount of candles to the cake, making it look really nice and festive.

Hermione went to wash her hands, as they were completely covered in flour and icing.

When she returned to the cake, Dobby said to her, "So, does Miss Hermione think that Sir Draco will like this cake?"

Hermione grinned broadly. "Yes, Dobby, I think he will. A lot. Come on, let's bring it out."

They entered the Great Hall and gingerly set the gigantic cake atop the Gryffindor table.

After a few moments, loud footsteps were heard in the doorway. Hermione looked up and saw Draco and Harry running into the Great Hall, Draco holding Harry by the hand so he wouldn't get lost in the crowd of students. Draco looked around frantically. "Draco, Harry, over here!" she called.

Draco and Harry, seeming to have spotted Hermione, rushed over, oblivious to the huge chocolate cake that was right in front of Hermione.

"Hermione, where were you? We couldn't find you anywhere?"" Draco began.

"Happy birthday, Draco!" Hermione said, for want of anything better.

Draco looked rather caught off guard. "The cake is for me?" he said wonderingly, looking at the large chocolate masterpiece.

"Yup. And it has your name right on it! Now sit so we can sing happy birthday!" Hermione commanded, and Harry sat down on her right, Draco across from them.

Hermione began singing happy birthday. True, she didn't have the world's best singing voice, but soon the whole room was singing. Draco looked rather embarrassed for once.

"Hermione, you really didn't have to?"" Draco began, but Hermione cut him off.

"Blow out the candles!" she said, gesturing to the seventeen flickering flames.

Draco obliged, pausing a moment to make a wish. Harry grinned and clapped.

"Now, who's for cake?" Hermione asked, cutting the cake into slivers and passing them to herself, Harry and Draco.

Harry looked up at Hermione in wonder. "Why are you giving me cake?" he asked softly, looking down at his untouched slice.

"Why not? It' Draco's birthday today, everybody deserves cake!" Hermione said happily, eyes sparkling with delight.

"Uncle Vernon won't let me have any on Dudley's birthday," Harry whispered, explaining.

Hermione fought hard not to lose her temper at this. "Well, Harry, you can have all the cake you want here, no matter what your uncle said."

"Really?" Harry broke into a wide, delighted smile, and began chewing forkfuls of the cake. His mouth was soon covered in chocolate frosting.

"Hermione, how did you know it was my birthday?" asked Draco.

"Saw it on your calendar."

"Oh. Well, thanks. You're not SO bad, Granger."

"You're not SO terrible yourself, Malfoy." Hermione replied.

"Yes, well. I do happen to prefer chocolate cake to vanilla." Draco said.

"Me too."

The three chatted amiably while finishing their cake slices. By the end, all three had chocolate smudges by their lips and pretty much all over their faces.

"You've got chocolate all over you, Draco! And you too, Harry." Hermione said, fighting the urge to laugh.

"Well, you're not exactly frosting-free, are you?"

"Well…"

"Well, in that case, this won't hurt much anyway, will it?" asked Draco, grinning evilly. And with that, he hurled a piece of cake at Hermione.

For a moment, Hermione sat stock-still, feeling the chocolate make its trail down her face. Then she grinned slowly and grabbed a handful and threw it across the table, right in the middle of Draco's nose.

Draco looked so funny with chocolate all over his face and robes that Hermione couldn't help laughing. Draco responded by throwing another handful of chocolate cake at Hermione, this time getting her hair.

It went on for a while, each madly chucking cake at one another. Harry was laughing appreciatively.

Finally, there was no more cake to be thrown. The two were completely covered in chocolate from head to toe. They sat, looking at each other, stock still. Finally Hermione reached across the table, grinning, and swiped some chocolate icing from the tip of Draco's nose.

"I never like to waste."

* * *

**B.**

After getting Sparkles back, Draco sat on the couch with him in his arms. As soon as Butterscotch dropped Sparkles he ran into Hermione's room.

"Hey! Get out of my room!" shouted Hermione.

And that's exactly what Butterscotch did, except he had a little surprise with him. In his mouth was Hermione's most prized possession – her old, ratty, loved to death Angel Blanket. Running over to Butterscotch she tried to grab it out of his hands.

"Is that _yours_, Hermione?" Draco asked.

"No, that's not mine!" Hermione said frantically. But under her breath she whispered to Butterscotch, "Put that _down_! That's not yours and you know it!"

Willingly Butterscotch dropped the blanket and ran back into her room.

_Now what is he getting?_ Hermione thought to herself.

"What about _that_, Hermione? Is _that_ yours?" Draco rolled into laughter on the couch and Harry stared at him wide-eyed wondering when he's going to roll off onto the floor.

"No! That is _NOT!_ mine! I do _not_ own a whole entire photo album of Brad Pitt and his awesomely, _hot_ body. I would never have movie pictures of him in a photo album either… Butterscotch, I'm warning you, if you hurt Brad Pitt it _will_ be the end!" Hermione whispered a little too loudly at the dog.

"Oh, okay Hermione, what ever you say about Brad Pitt. We all know who you'd rather have in that Photo Album," Draco laughed and this time rolled off onto the floor. Harry's finally starting to have a giggle fest himself, not only at Draco but at Hermione's facial expression.

"You are so full of yourself. Draco! Why would _I_ want pictures of _you_?"

"Well you've already got a sizable amount in that camera of yours."

Just then Butterscotch comes out of Hermione's room again.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Give that _BACK!_ That's mine…._NOT_ mine I tell you but a…friend's and she'll need it back!" Hermione yelled at Butterscotch but before she could get it the dog brought it over to Draco.

"The Top Ten Ways to Increase Your Bust Size, whoa Hermione, didn't think that you'd be a person with one of these," Draco laughed out to her.

"I _told_ you, it's not mine! It's a friend's!"

"And who would be that friend?"

"Ginny," Hermione sais a little too quickly.

"Really, why'd she give it to you?"

"She left it here the last time she was over."

"Well when was that? Because the last…every time, she's never had anything with her."

"Can I just have it back?"

"Yes you can have it back," Draco said with an evil glint in his eyes. Hermione held out her hand but didn't receive the book.

"Draco, can I have it?"

"Yes, you can."

"Well?"

"You didn't say, 'May I'."

"Draco Malfoy! You give that back NOW!"

"There's no use in shouting, I can hear you just fine," Draco's all too familiar smirk had set on his face by now.

"MAY I PLEASE HAVE IT BACK?"

"Let me think…no."

"AHHHHH!" Hermione screamed as she charged Draco.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HARRY HELP!"

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST GIVE IT BACK BEFORE SHE DOES SOMETHING SERIOUS!" Harry shouted over the noise to be heard.

"FINE! HERE! YOU CAN HAVE IT BACK!" Draco threw the book over to Hermione but to no avail. Butterscotch grabbed the book midair and ran around the room with it like a victory flag.

"DRACO! You are in serious trouble! Now the dog's got it…"

"He's got a name Hermione," Draco said nonchalantly.

"Fine," she said a little too shortly. "Now _Butterscotch_ has my book and it wouldn't have happened if _you_ would have just given it back."

"Oh, so it is yours. Okay, well there's nothing to be shy about. I'm sure plenty of girls have a copy."

"_I_ don't _need_ a copy though. I'm perfectly content with mine, thank you very much."

"Okay, okay, chill Hermione. I'm just joking around. Sheesh, remember to never do that Harry. Especially when it concerns Hermione," Draco whispered over to Harry. While Butterscotch was running around the room with the book in his mouth, Draco started thinking of ways to get it back.

"Any day now, Draco."

"All right, don't worry." Draco starts running after Butterscotch; scrambling for the book, and trying to pounce on Butterscotch every once in a while. Hermione and Harry are sitting on the couch watching Draco go around in circles, acting like a complete idiot. When Draco finally wrestled the book out of Butterscotches mouth, Hermione and Harry had lost interest in the boy chasing the dog. Instead they were both in a serious conversation over who looked more the fool: Draco chasing a dog, or Butterscotch with a book on ways to increase your bust. Although Harry didn't really know about _anything_ that had to do with busts, he still knew that there was a puppy with a _book_ in its jaws.

"Why would Butterscotch want a book, Mione?" Harry asked puzzled.

Draco joined in the conversation saying, "Because Butterscotch likes having a feminine side to him every once in a while."

"Draco, honestly, Harry's five. To him there are no girl/boy differences."

"Okay Mrs. Top Ten Ways to Increase Your Bust Size."

"Draco Malfoy, you're in for it!" Just as Hermione's ready to pounce on Draco Butterscotch walks over to the fireplace.

* * *

**C.**

"Well, tomorrow is the big day, Lav. Finally, Terry will be back to bloody normal! I don't think I would be able to stand him for any longer!" Ron sighed with relief at the thought of no more bruises and teeth marks. Lavender, however, didn't look too happy at Ron's announcement. Before he could react, she had hit him rather hard on the arm.

"Ow! Watch the bruises! They're still there from when Terry bit me yesterday! Or was it the day before? …Still! You shouldn't hit people's wounds!" Ron cradled his black and blue arm still adorned with tiny teeth marks.

"Ron! You deserve it! How dare you be happy that Terry will be gone! He's just a little kid! You shouldn't be so mean to him! Go apologize to him! _Now_!" Ron shrank back from Lavender with a look of fear. She was _scary _when she was mad! With a expression of annoyance on his face, Ron reluctantly walked over to the little five-year-old terror.

"Terry, I want to apologize." Ron smartly left out why. Terry would be biting him all over if he knew that Ron didn't like him! The little boy looked up at him with confusion. He actually looked… innocent and adorable. Well, Ron decided, looks can definitely be deceiving.

Before Terry could ask Ron why he was apologizing, Lavender scooped him up in her arms, walking with the little boy into the Gryffindor common room. Ron sighed with relief. At least _he _wouldn't have to deal with the little biting terror.

Ron walked away to go find Hermione and Harry. Hopefully they weren't busy with Draco. Yes, even Ron was calling him by his first name now. He was just so adorable! You couldn't help but love him!

As it turned out, Harry and Hermione were indeed busy. They were both studying, albeit Harry wasn't as enthusiastic about it as Hermione was. Draco was playing with Pansy in his room, where you could hear occasional screams of horror. These usually coincided with Draco running out of the room with various charms on him, including long, hot pink, fake nails magically attached with Harry's stolen wand, girly clothes, and ever-changing hair color. Ron decided not to stick around just in case Pansy saw him and decided to do something about his bright red mop of hair.

Ron walked back toward Gryffindor Tower, when he saw Lavender running in his direction, a look of panic on her face. Ron froze.

Lavender let out a shrill scream. "RONALD WEASLEY! WHERE DID YOU PUT TERRY?"

♥♫♥♫♥♫

Terry frowned as he walked down the corridor. Where was that kid? The one with the bleached hair, the one he really wanted to bite, was nowhere to be found! Well, maybe he would have to find a new victim. Terry gave an evil grin as he saw a young girl walking down the hallway.

She was his age and had long black hair. He knew her! Terry frowned, trying to recall her name. _Daisy? Well, something like that. _Without a second thought, Terry snuck up behind the unsuspecting girl. In one swift movement, he attached his teeth to her arm. He was, however, unprepared for the screeching wail that came with his attack.

Pansy screamed as loud as she could, desperately trying to get the little bugger off. She shook her arm, then stopped because his teeth were nearly tearing her skin. _Alright, _Pansy thought. _Time to bring out the big guns. _

♥♫♥♫♥♫

Ron ran down the hallway toward Gryffindor Tower. He had to find Terry! Merlin, he couldn't wait until the little bugger was back to normal.

"Ron! Ron, wait! I want to ask you something!" Ron ignored the voice. It sounded familiar… Wait! That was Cho!

"Ron, please! I wanted to know if you'll go out with me! Ron!" Ron almost stopped in shock, don't forget disgust, but he remembered that he had to find Terry.

He ignored her whiny voice and ran down the hallway.

♥♫♥♫♥♫

Pansy swung her foot around, grinning smugly as she felt it connect with a shin. A howl of pain accompanied the release of her arm. Pansy backed away from her attacker, cradling her bruised arm.

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO BITE ME! I'M GOING TO KICK YOU SO HARD YOU WON'T EVEN REMEMBER YOUR NAME!" Pansy screamed. Terry backed up, terrified. No matter who he bit, this had never happened before. Pansy lunged at him.

Terry fled. Running down the hallway, he didn't stop until he reached the dungeons all the way at the other side of the castle. Stopping to breathe, Terry looked around, panting. Suddenly he saw a tall man in black robes stalking down the hallway. It was Professor Snoop, or something like that.

Terry grinned. He had just found himself a new victim.

* * *

**Parenting Class**

**Nundus…Those Can't Be Good (aka the real chapter)**

Bright, warm sunlight streamed in through the large window, bouncing of the waterfall and creating miniature rainbows sparkling all about the dark green room. Hermione raised herself up on one elbow to watch the spectacle, wondering why she'd never seen it before.

And then she remembered. Last night. Flipping quickly over she came face to face with Harry, who was sleeping peacefully. Her throat clenched as she looked at the boy's neck. Dark, purple and blue bruises covered the pale flesh, standing out vividly from the peach. But the frightening thing were the marks. Each one was in the shape of a long and slender finger…much too long to be Harry's.

'_He was really with him,' _she realized, touching Harry's hand to reassure herself the boy was next to her. "_Voldemort was really trying to kill Harry…he was in Hogwarts! We'll visit Dumbledore before breakfast,' _she decided, chewing on her lower lip. '_He'll know what to do.'_

Conjuring up an icepack like Draco had done the night before, she gently lifted Harry's head from the pillow and placed it beneath his neck and another one under his chin. Crawling around Harry and over to Draco, Hermione was surprised when she heard a soft woof of thanks.

Turning, she smiled as she saw Butterscotch had taken her spot on the bed and was nuzzling Harry. "You know," she said, looking at the puppy fondly, "I don't think I'll ever be able to be mad at you…you saved Harry's life and I'm eternally grateful." Butterscotch gave her a grin and went back to trying to sleep.

The Gryffindor looked at Draco, surprised to see his face etched in semi-pain. When he'd woken her up at five, he hadn't seemed to be like that…merely tired, which didn't come as a surprise since it was quite early. "I am such a bloody idiot," she muttered, a wave of guilt washing over her.

Yesterday's events flashed through her mind…dropping Draco to the floor, forcing soap into his mouth, putting Harry on his stomach, not letting him play…well, the last one she could understand. After all, she wouldn't have him falling behind in his studies because he'd rather read about quidditch. But he was hurt and she probably made it worse.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, reaching out and brushing back a stray piece of Draco's hair that had fallen across his eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you…I just…oh, I don't know. You deserved to have soap put in your mouth, but I shouldn't have done it with your injuries. "Can you forgive me?"

"That depends."

Hermione gave a shriek and tumbled of the bed, clutching her pounding heart. "Don't do that!" she cried, breathing heavily as if she'd just run a mile. "You scared me! Wait!" she intervened before Draco could say anything. "Don't apologize. That was my own fault and I quite deserved it. Now…depends on what?"

"If you promise to never, _ever, _put soap in my mouth again."

"Deal." Hermione held her hand out and Draco took it after a moment's contemplation. "Look at this," she whispered, going serious once more. "On his neck." Removing one of the icepacks, Draco was able to see the marks the fingers pressed into the flesh had made.

"Did Harry do that or did…?"

"Voldemort did. The hands are too big to be Harry's." After a pause Hermione said softly, "I'm scared Draco. For Harry. He's so little…so defenseless. He might have died last night if Butterscotch hadn't gotten us"

"But the dog did, so let's just put it behind us."

"We can't! It isn't an everyday occurrence you know. Somehow, Voldemort was able to get past the defense at Hogwarts and he almost killed Harry right under our noses. How do you think we would have reacted in the morning if we'd found him dead?"

"Calm down," Draco commanded. "Yes, it is terrible and all, but it didn't happen. When we talk to Dumbledore he can probably fix it. So relax…you're worrying about something that we can't fix and if you keep doing it you'll get sick."

"When did you become smart?" she joked. "But you're right…Dumbledore will take care of everything. And Harry doesn't appear to be too bad…I mean, he's sleeping right now."

Draco looked offended at the first remark. "Hello?" he asked, rapping his knuckles against Hermione's skull. "I am a Prefect and second highest ranked in this school as of the moment. I'm not as dumb as you think I am."

"Sorry," she apologized with a grin. "I know you're not. Although I can whip you at Transfiguration."

"And I beat you bloody bad at Potions. I am his favorite you know."

"I know," Hermione growled, vein pulsing in her forehead. "And that's the only reason I'm not beating you there too." Draco simply smirked. "Hey, Harry's waking up!"

And indeed, the little boy was sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily, Butterscotch licking his face in a morning greeting. But a second later, both of his hands went to his neck and his face was scrunched up in pain. "Does it hurt a lot?" Hermione asked gently, scooting over on the bed. Harry gave a single nod. "Let's head up and see Professor Dumbledore. He can possibly make it feel better. Let's all go get dressed and then we'll head up to see him."

Disappearing into her own room, Hermione pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved deep purple shirt and then yanked her robes on over her head. Picking up her book bag from the floor, Hermione exited. "Ready to go?" she asked. "Is Butterscotch in his cage?"

"No," Draco shuddered. "I'm not going near that thing."

"You didn't seem so afraid of him last night. You were using the dog as a pillow!"

"Probably because I was too exhausted to realize what it really was. And Harry's almost asleep again…I'm not going to make him do it." Indeed, the child was curled contentedly in Draco's arms, breathing soft and even.

Shaking her head, Hermione bribed the puppy into his cage with some dog treats and closed the door of it before Butterscotch even knew what was happening. Double checking to make sure his water bowl was still in the cage, Hermione gave the puppy a pat on the head through the bars and then beckoned for Draco to follow.

The halls were relatively empty, with only a few cries of alarm from some younger years as Peeves attacked them down the hall with water balloons as they headed for breakfast. Sunlight filtered in through the high windows, playing gently over the stone and warming it somewhat.

"So," said Draco, attempting to create a conversation. "What class do we have first today?"

"Care of Magical Creatures. I'm really hoping that Hagrid doesn't bring anything too dangerous. I mean, I really can't see Harry taking well to a dragon or a Manticore, can you?"

"Maybe he'll bring in a Niffler? I'm sure Harry would like those."

"But we learned about Nifflers in fourth year, remember? That was when Hagrid hid the Leprechaun gold…"

"Oh yeah. Maybe a Mooncalf then?"

"The only good way to study a Mooncalf is at night when they're performing their dances."

"Dances?"

Hermione sighed. "It's said that when the Mooncalves perform their dances they're attempting to find a mate. They dance on their hind legs in a pattern on the ground and disappear before the sun comes up. It's really quite interesting," she mused. "Back in 1739 wizards studied the patterns made by Mooncalves made at certain times of the year to predict how well their crops would grow. No real discovery was made of this until 1748 when…"

Draco tuned out the now chattering Gryffindor and shook his head, though a smile was on his face. '_Truly a bookworm,' _he smirked. '_I wonder if she liked reading that much when she was a kid. If she did, we shouldn't have any trouble…just bring her to the library and let her read everyday. I don't know why she thinks she'll be hard to handle."_

Listening again he heard Hermione speak, "and so therefore it's said that the patterns really hold no significant value to farming, although studies are still going on to find if the patterns are in anyway connected to the Mooncalf the other Mooncalf is trying to mate. Interesting, huh?"

"Very," Draco agreed.

"Were you even listening to me?"

"Uh huh," Draco lied. "Hey look, we're here," he said, steering the conversation away from Mooncalves and their weird dances. "Any clue on the password?"

"Hmmm…not really. Just start guessing candies. One of them has to work."

"Gumdrops!"

"Snickers."

"Isn't a snicker a sort of laugh?"

"Yes, but it's also a candy bar that has chocolate, nougat, peanuts and caramel."

"Oh…Fizzing Whizbees."

"Nerds."

"Well that isn't very nice," Draco commented. "Some people are proud to be nerds…like you."

"One, I am _not _a nerd," Hermione huffed. "I just enjoy school. And two, nerds are also a candy."

"Right…" Draco drawled. "How about then…geeks!"

"That _isn't _a candy," Hermione sighed. "Butterfinger!"

"Muggles certainly have the oddest names for candy."

"Yup, but they work." As they watched, the gargoyles sprang apart to reveal the revolving staircase. Hopping on, Draco followed with Harry and both remained silent for the short trip up, the reality of why they were there too serious to make more jokes.

Entering Dumbledore's office, they noticed the man standing at the window and stroking Fawkes' head. "Hello, Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy," the headmaster greeted, never once turning away. "And how are you this fine morning?"

"We're well, Sir," Hermione said. "But Harry isn't."

"Harry?" Dumbledore looked sharply up, blue eyes looking at the child.

"Yes. Last night we think…no, we're positive, that Voldemort was here, at Hogwarts." At a nod from Dumbledore to continue, Hermione did. "We were sleeping when Butterscotch, Harry's puppy, woke us up barking. When we got to Harry's room he looked like he was strangling himself, or trying to get someone else's hands off of his neck. We managed to wake him up and he told us that he was with the 'bad wizard'. This morning, when it was light enough I saw the bruises around his neck…the fingers are too long to be his. Voldemort was here…he almost killed Harry."

"May I see him?" asked Dumbledore, holding out his arms.

Draco nodded and began to place Harry in the man's, just as the boy woke up. He took one look at Dumbledore and the once vibrant green orbs turned blood red. Hermione screamed and Draco drew back on the boy, clutching him protectively to his chest.

"It is as I feared," Dumbledore spoke softly.

"What is?" Hermione whispered, looking at Harry, who's eyes were once more green but very wide and slowly filling with tears.

"First, give him this," Dumbledore said, handing a vial to Draco. "We can't let him overhear…that's a simple sleeping draught. We can wake him up when we're done with this conversation."

Draco nodded and looked down at Harry, who had his face now buried in Draco's robes. "Can you drink this?" he asked quietly.

Harry gave a tiny nod and took the drink from the Slytherin. Seconds later, he was once more sound asleep. "Sit down," suggested Dumbledore, conjuring two armchairs for Hermione and Draco in front of his desk. "What I say may come as a shock, especially to you, Miss Granger. I know that you have been Harry's friend from the start, but you must not blame him for not informing you of what happened at the Ministry last year. And Mr. Malfoy, I trust that you won't tell anyone of what I'm about to say."

Both nodded, the air thick with tension and fear and they'd do anything to make it leave.

"Last year at the Ministry, I was forced into a duel with Voldemort," Dumbledore said gravely. "At the end, I had him cornered and he…somehow, he managed to take control of Harry and speak through him. I fear that when Voldemort was resurrected with Harry's blood two years ago, he gained some new powers."

"So you mean that he can take over Harry whenever he wants to?" Hermione gasped, looking fearfully down at the boy lying across Draco's lap.

"Not quite. Last year, he managed to gain access when Harry was very emotionally unstable; having just witnessed Sirius' death. Now, Harry has very low defense barriers, being only a child. Once he is returned to his normal age, the barriers should go up and hold off Voldemort…for now."

"For now?" Draco echoed.

Dumbledore bowed his head. "Every time Voldemort attempts to break through, Harry's barrier weakens since he does not know how to defend it. We had hoped occlumency would have helped, but between Professor Snape's dislike of Harry and Harry's temper we haven't gotten very far."

"We have to do something," Hermione declared. "Harry's my best friend," she said softer. "I'm not going to stand here and just wait for Harry to get over this. There has to be someway I can help."

"Just let him know you're there for him," Dumbledore advised. "Make sure he knows you care and he has your friendship. Because Voldemort will never understand the true meaning of love or friendship, and he therefore can't break through it. I think it might be safer to transform Harry back to his proper age…he'll be somewhat better protected and Voldemort won't be able to visit him in his dreams or take control."

"I don't know if that would be the best action," Hermione murmured. "Harry had such a sad childhood. I want him to know that we care for him…and when he is changed back our bonds may be even deeper then before…and he's even gaining new friends through this project...like Draco and Pansy."

"I see your point," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "By having more friends, Harry will have even more of a defense against Voldemort because he'll be able to draw strength and support from them. Then the best course of action I'd have to say would be to let him stay like this until the end of the project. But, if he should ever be possessed or have an encounter with Voldemort, like last night, we will have no choice but to return him to his proper age, understood?"

"Very clearly, Sir," Hermione and Draco chorused.

Dumbledore reached over his desk and ruffled Harry's hair. "I say it's time to wake him up now and then head down for breakfast. You all look like you could use a hot meal…give this to Harry after he's eaten something," Dumbledore said, handing a small bottle to Draco. "It should make him feel quite a bit better. And remember…if you ever need something, my door will always be open."

Hermione nodded and took the antidote for the sleeping potion. Administering it to Harry, she smiled her thanks at Dumbledore and turned to leave, Harry now in her arms and starting to rouse. Draco nodded at Dumbledore and followed Hermione and Harry, picking up the Gryffindor's overly large book bag on the way out.

The headmaster smiled at the trio, blue eyes twinkling mischievously with humor. "I must say," he chuckled to himself, watching as Draco and Hermione began to talk and fuss over Harry (well, really only Hermione fussing, Draco simply making sure he was okay) , "I am a genius."

* * *

"I do wonder what Hagrid is planning," Hermione said as the trio strolled outside and down the hill to Hagrid's cabin. They had all eaten breakfast and Harry had taken his medicine and were now ready to face whatever the half-giant had planned for them. 

"Is it going to be scary?" asked Harry, riding comfortably on Draco's shoulders.

"I hope not," Hermione tried to reassure. "At least we don't have to worry about the Dragons, right?" As they neared the clearing they saw Hagrid standing on his front step, a large grin on his face. "I've got a real treat for yeh all today," he smiled. Noticing Harry, his grin got even wider. 'Arry, so nice ter see you again."

"Uncle Haggy!" Harry cried in delight. Taking the child off of his shoulders, Draco watched as he sprinted for Hagrid and hugged him around the knees. "Are you going to show us something scary?" he asked, looking up at the gamekeeper.

"Nah, course not," Hagrid beamed. "I'd never show yeh anything dangerous."

The class, overhearing Hagrid's announcement, looked at one another before small giggles were heard and then loud snickering. "Nothing dangerous," Lavender laughed. "Then what were the Blast-Ended Skrewts?"

"And Norbert?" chimed in Terry.

"And all the other things we've studied?" added Pansy. Hagrid pointedly ignored them.

"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked, looking around at the assembled students. "Right then, I'll go get yeh the creature." Disappearing into his house, Hagrid came back out with a rather large wicker basket and set it on the ground. "If yeh'd come a bit nearer," he said, "I'll show yeh what's inside."

"Do we want to know?" Draco whispered to Hermione, the girl shrugging and sitting down a few feet from it, Harry securely in her lap.

"In ere is a Nundu. Nundus are from Eas' Africa and are said to be close to extinction, due ter wizards killin' em'."

"A Nundu," Hermione squeaked, backing up another few feet. "Are you mad, Hagrid! That thing could kill us all in a matter of minutes!"

"No, he won'. See, he's on'y a baby, can' do any serious damage yet. Now, as I was saying. There's a huge debate going on 'tween wizards abou' if Nundus are the most dangerous creatures in world. I fer one, don' think they are. Now abou' the Nundu. It's a gigantic leopard that is very quiet when it moves, 'spite it's size. Their breath is full of diseases that could wipe out whole towns."

"So why are we studying one?" asked Pansy faintly.

"Being on'y a baby, the most damage yeh'll get from Fuzzball is a cold fer a day o' so. Would any of yeh like ter pet him?" No one moved.

Hermione sighed. When Harry was older he was always the one to participate first in Hagrid's classes so the teacher wouldn't feel so bad that no one liked his 'pets'. "I'll pet him, Hagrid," she sighed, resigning herself to fate.

Hagrid beamed. "Right then, 'Mione. Now, when yer pet him hold yer breath. It'll prevent yeh from getting sick as long as yeh don't breathe in the air around him." Reaching into the basket, Hagrid removed the Nundu. It was the size of a full grown house cat, black and dark gold spots on the golden coat identifying it as a leopard.

Fuzzball was sound asleep, and curled up in Hagrid's arms as soon as he was free from his basket. Cries of exclamation over how cute he was rose from the girls and the kids. Hermione took a gulp of fresh air and stepped closer to the cat in Hagrid's arms. Reaching out, she gently stroked it, the Nundu purring in response.

"I wanna pet him too!" shouted Ron, jumping up from beside Lavender (where she'd made him sit, not by Harry or Neville) and racing towards the leopard. Unfortunately, Ron didn't hold his breath and instead took in a lungful of air around the Nundu. A split second later, he fell over on the ground.

"Ron!" screamed Lavender.

"It's all right," Hagrid called. "He's jus' got a cold…the blast knocked him out though."

"Can I pet him, Draco?" Harry asked, looking up at his current guardian. "Please?"

"Okay," Draco said slowly. "But I'll go with you…and remember to hold your breath." Harry nodded and both moved slowly towards Hermione and Hagrid. "Harry wants to pet the cat too," Draco announced.

"Come on, 'Arry," Hagrid encouraged. "He won' bite yeh." Tentatively Harry stepped forward with Draco right behind, both already holding their breath. Gingerly, Harry touched the Nundu, whom Hagrid had lowered so he could reach it. The child's eyes lighted up and he smiled at Hagrid, who looked like he had when Draco (as a child) has asked if he could ride the dragon.

Care of Magical Creatures ended shortly after, no more accidents occurring, which was quite strange considering Neville was there. Ron was taken up to the Hospital Wing to get some Pepper-up Potion from Pomfrey so he'd hopefully be feeling better.

Ginny met Hermione and her group in the Great Hall for lunch a few hours later, her face furious. "What's wrong?" asked Hermione, helping herself to an apple.

"My 'younger brother'," she hissed, so Harry wouldn't overhear, vehemently biting into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Lavender asked me to watch him for a minute while she went to the bathroom since Terry was off getting an extra dose of pepper-up for him."

"That doesn't sound so bad…"

"During that five minutes he managed to steal my wand and dye my hair lime green. See, there's still some green left by my roots. And then that brat tied me up and I was forced to watch him paint Lavender's room the most beautiful shade of brown. She wasn't very happy…"

Hermione nodded sympathetically and patted her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry," she comforted. "In less then two weeks it'll all be back to nor-" her voice was drowned out as loud screaming from the entrance hall sounded.

The noise grew louder and several of the children began to cry as students around them rose with their wands out and ready to defend, faces serious. The shouting grew louder until it seemed like the building would explode from the sound.

The question is…who's attacking Hogwarts?

**Author's Notes:**

Several things to cover. One, and probably the most important, is I won't be doing FAQ's anymore. A story I read got deleted b/c of the author's interaction with the readers, although it was put back up after she promised to stop. Since I don't want PC to get deleted, I decided I'd best stop.

Two, if there are huge spelling errors, I'm extremely sorry. I'm also sorry that I once more can't thank each reader individually for their kind reviews. My compy has gotten worse from last week and even typing it in Microsoft Word, the screen froze after every line and I lost quite a bit several times when the program closed out. As of now, my internet won't load for more then two pages…so I'm really hoping I can make it all the way to fan fiction and then up load this.

Three, the part with Harry and Voldemort will come up more in the sequel. I'll kind of drop it for now since this is main genre humor, but the sequel (I'm planning) should be Drama/Romance, but it'll still have a lot of humor in it. As for the question of will Draco and Mione pair up now, well…next chapter (or maybe the one after that since I've added some fun for next) will have them 'bonding' quite nicely. You'll have to wait and see….but no, I don't really see them being boyfriend/girlfriend in this story, though they'll come pretty close.

Four, a huge, gigantic thank you to all of you who reviewed and an even bigger one to the three wonderful people who submitted entries. That brings up another point. **I shall not be updating next week. **I know it's sudden, but I've been thinking…I take a large part of my weekend and part of my weekday typing chapters for PC. And each must be minimum 3 thousand words or it's too short. And when I made the contest, I only said 1200 words max. Now, I'm not trying to say that I'm disappointed in the lack of support, more of the fact that I got a ton of emails that I patiently answered about the contest and then most of those people never submitted entries. So, I feel a break is in order so look for me in two weeks. Also, hopefully during that time I can make my computer work right. So then I thank everyone properly.

I talked to my friend about this (Matt! You are the best! -hugs-) and he informed me that he'd be ranting and raving. So I think the way I said it is an improvement.

See you all in two weeks! And please, do review. They make me very happy. And who knows…if I get enough, maybe I will update in a week. Ja ne!


	26. The Invasion of…Gred and Forge?

**Disclaimer: There was a girl named IcyPanther. ****EieI-O! She wished she owned Harry Potter. EieI-O! With a wish for Draco and a wish for Harry. There a wish, here a wish, every where a wish-wish. IcyPanther doesn't own Harry Potter, EieI-O!**

**CONTEST RESULTS!**

**The winner of the contest was Choice A with a 33 votes! Congrats to Luckygirly for her winning entry! Choice B came in second place with 15 votes, submitted by Knivesgirl346! And in a close third was Choice C with 13 votes, written by TsuirakuMitsukai! Congrats to you all! Below are some comments to each of you from me. Think of it as helpful criticism. But first…**

-hands Luckygirly _**Ballerina Snape Plushie**- _Congrats, you earned it!

Luckygirly- You definitely have a good idea of what you wanted to make as your story line. I quite liked all of the interaction you had with the other characters (namely Dobby) and the little bit with Harry and the chocolate cake was very touching. One thing I would have to comment on was it was sort of cliché. Not the baking the cake idea, but the finding the calendar with the date. Many people often use diaries or calendars to discover a secret of the character. And the ending, to me, was a bit odd when both switched to surnames. I didn't quite get why that was put in. But other then that, nice entry and good luck with your writing!

Knivesgirl346- Very original idea. I loved all of the bickering between Mione and Draco. Especially when Harry intervened and told Draco to give it back before Hermione did anything. Smart words. :P I didn't mind the book you chose to use, although I can't really see Hermione ever using it. The one thing I would discourage though would be the use of actors (or actresses or other celebs). It appears that you like Brad Pitt, but other readers may not and then find the story less enjoyable. I try to not go into that area, especially when looks are concerned. Try not to let personal opinions get in the way would be my advice. But very nice entry, keep up the good work.

TsuirakuMitsukai- First off, kudos to you for writing about two of the not so major characters! I loved how Terry got frightened when Pansy retaliated. I loved her line of 'I'll kick you so hard you won't even remember your name' or something like that. :P The ending was good too…poor Snape. I'll assume this is when he gets bitten? At least he gets a hug later. XD The one piece of criticism is also, don't let personal opinions get in the way. In your case, I mean the semi-bashing of Cho. That part wasn't really needed in the story and some readers might like Cho and then not really like your story anymore. Just keep that in mind next time you write. Keep writing!

And once more, a huge thank you to the writers and the voters!

**Parenting Class**

**The Invasion of…Gred and Forge?**

Hermione's face suddenly relaxed amongst the screaming and she sat down and began to finish her lunch, quite calmly. "What are you doing?" Draco exclaimed, keeping his wand aimed at the door. "We're under attack here!"

"No…we're not. Listen carefully to the screams. Does that sound like people are being hurt?"

Draco tilted his head towards the doors, a thoughtful expression on his face. "It's…cheering," he said softly. "Very loud cheering. But for who?"

"Maybe Umbridge came back and the students are torturing her," grinned Ginny. "I think I'll go join in the fun." Just as the girl was about to rise, the double doors of the Hall burst open and in strode two tall, lanky redheads, identical down to the freckle.

"Ginny," the chorused, rushing towards the girl and squeezing her between them.

"It's so good to see you darling sister."

"It must have been years since our last meeting!"

"How are you doing?"

"Splendidly well we hope."

"Are you two mad?" Ginny hissed, grabbing the twins by their ties and dragging them down so their faces were level with hers.

"We have been called crazy at times."

"But we know that people always in fact mean-"

"Talented."

"Unique."

"Brilliant."

"Dashing."

"I wouldn't go that far," chuckled Hermione.

Both feigned looks of hurt. "You mean you don't think we're handsome?" asked Fred, taking Hermione's hand in his and planting a kiss on it. "Mademoiselle, you must know, we're think your beauty is truly stunning." Hermione blushed and looked down at her feet.

"Cut that out," snapped Ginny, swatting both on the back of their heads. "She's already got a boyfriend."

"I do?"

"You do? Oh, marvelous! Who's the lucky chap?"

"But I don-"

"We must meet him! Want to make sure he's the best for our adopted little sister."

"I don't have a boyfriend!"

Fred and George gasped. "But Ginny said you did! Surely she wouldn't lie…"

"Well, she did."

"But she does have her eye set on someone special," the girl grinned. But her face turned into a death wish for her brothers a second later. "What do you think you're doing here?" she growled softly.

"Why visiting our loving little sister and brother, what else?"

"Earth to the idiots," she snarled, rapping them both on top of their heads. "Remember the project going on here?"

"Oh yes!"

"We certainly do!"

"And where's Draco? Such a wonderful prankster."

"I'm right here," the Slytherin said calmly, Harry sitting on his lap and looking at the twins wide-eyed.

"Oh…but you're not…"

"That's right," Ginny whispered. "And guess who's little now and expect you guys to only be about seven?"

"Ronniekins?"

"That's right. So you two had bet-"

"Hey!" The small group turned to see a redheaded child storming across the Hall with Lavender and Terry following. "Who are you?" he demanded, pointing at the twins.

"Ron, use your manners," chided Lavender.

"Why, I'm Forge," Fred exclaimed.

"And I'm Gred," his twin said.

"So you're not Fred and George?"

"Nope. We're Forge and Gred," George said, loud enough for the people around them to hear. Seeing him wink, students nodded and began to pass the message along so no one would call them by their real names.

"Forge and Gred," Ron repeated. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," they grinned.

"Now that that's settled," Lavender announced, scooping Ron into her arms, "it's time for you to go lie down."

"But I feel fine," Ron whined. Not paying his protests the slightest heed, Lavender exited with Ron over her shoulder, thumping his fists against her back and Terry being careful to not get hit.

"So what are you really doing here?" asked Ginny, relieved that Ron hadn't pressed the issue.

"Do we need an excuse to see our little sister?" asked George. "And we were expecting to see two of our favorite trouble makers, but alas, it looks like they've grown up."

"Gred," Hermione said warningly. "Anyways," she smiled, "this is Harry. Harry, meet Gred and Forge."

"Hello," Harry said shyly.

"And hello to you too, Harry," Fred smiled. "How are you liking Hogwarts?"

"It's nice….and Dobby is really funny!"

"Why aren't you at your shop?" asked Hermione, taking another bite of her breakfast.

"Closed for the day. We wanted to test several of our new products."

"So then why aren't you testing them?" asked Ginny, now quite confused.

"Because we're having the students test them," George grinned. "We set them up all over the school with some little recorders so we can watch the results. Don't worry," he said quickly, noticing Hermione's glare, "none of them are dangerous! We just want to see what the students think of them before we sell them."

"And where are these pranks?" Draco asked warily.

Both twins looked at the Slytherin, as if deciding if they should be truthful or lie. Images of the child Draco, so sweet and clumsy came to mind and they realized they weren't dealing with anyone dangerous who could be considered in league to the Dark Lord.

"Oh…you'll see," Fred said evasively. "Just watch out all around you. That's our warning. Ta!" In a brilliant puff of red smoke, both vanished.

"Where'd they go?" asked Ginny, turning wildly around and looking for her brothers.

"We're right here," George said, his voice near but him no where in sight.

"This is one of the tricks we did test," Fred smiled. "We managed to get some hair from a Demiguise and multiply it so we don't waste all of our earnings on it. Very expensive stuff you know."

"And then we made it into a potion form that we hold in little capsules. When you pop the top off, smoke will cover you and then you'll be invisible."

"But why?" asked Ginny.

"Because Demiguise hair is what Invisibility Cloaks are made out of," Hermione clarified. "The Demiguise is found in far East Asia but is very hard to find since it can make itself invisible at will and can only be seen by wizards who were taught to find it. The hair on them is used to make the cloaks…and I presume your new potion."

"Can I get a free one being your loveable little sister?" smirked Ginny, having finally located Fred and was hugging the invisible boy. "Please?"

"Later. We'll send you some for Christmas. Oh wait, you're coming home, right?"

"Yup, so I'll raid your supply when I get there."

"Don't you dare," threatened George, appearing behind Ginny. "Or we won't hesitate to turn you into…a monkey!"

"A monkey?" she snorted. "For one, you two don't know how to do animal transformations. And two, I would never be that stupid to fall into a trap of yours."

"Just you wait Ginny," Fred smirked.

"I think I'll stay here for the rest of the day," announced Draco. "Since I know you haven't had time to plant anything where I'm sitting, I'm perfectly safe."

"Don't be so sure," George winked. "You don't know how sneaky we can be."

"You can't top a Slytherin when it comes to sneaking," Draco retorted. "We're the absolute best."

"You've never faced us before," grinned Fred. "Just you wait, Draco Malfoy. You'll see who's the best."

Fred and George departed once more with their vanishing potion a second later, leaving a very wary group behind them.

"What do you reckon their new tricks are?" asked Ginny, fingering her red braid nervously.

"Probably harmless pranks," said Hermione, scooping Harry off of Draco's lap and placing him on her hip. "Come on, we've got History of Magic."

The class passed very uneventfully with only about a third of the students falling asleep this time, as many were too nervous about the rumors going around that there were traps all over the school. Draco was one of that third, and Hermione let him know how she felt about it as they headed down to the lake for their free period.

"It's an important class, Draco. You have to pay attention!"

"And why would I even need to know about wars with Dragons? It has nothing to due with my career."

"You told me you haven't chosen a career yet!"

"I haven't…but I know it _won't _deal with history."

Their spat was broken off as two grinning redheads made their way over to the trio. "And what are you three up to?" asked Fred, pulling Harry out of Hermione's arms and placing the child on his shoulders.

"Just heading down to the lake. It's a rather nice day today and I thought we'd do some of our homework outside."

"WHAT!" Draco screeched. "You never said anything about homework. We're supposed to enjoy a free period; not work during it. I'll see you and Harry later then." Draco turned his back and began to walk back up to the castle.

**Lesson number one: Never turn your back on a Weasley twin.**

A split second later, Draco lay on the ground, his face landing conveniently in a large mud puddle. As the Slytherin started to rise, a frog jumped on top of his head and gave a loud croak. Hermione giggled and snapped a picture.

Shaking his head, the boy stood up and the frog hopped off and down to the lake. "What was that?" Draco asked dangerously, his entire face covered in mud and grass.

"Mud splat," George announced cheerfully. "See this?" he asked, holding up a small, brown pebble. "You throw it at the person you want to trip and it'll form a mud puddle in front of them as they fall. Nice, isn't it?"

Draco's eyebrow twitched and Hermione burst out laughing, the expression so angry but his appearance so comical. Then, Fred and George started to laugh and Harry joined in. Draco sighed, knowing he couldn't yell since obviously he'd upset Harry. Wiping off his face with his sleeve, he grimaced at the amount of grime left on the black cloth.

"Sorry bout that," Fred apologized, seeing how the Slytherin was trying his best not to blow up. "But Hermione's right, it's time for homework!"

"Like you're one to talk?" Draco grumbled, plodding back over to the small group.

"We passed with the very-"

"-best marks of our entire class!"

"We never had to study-"

"-since we're so smart."

"You two are the worst liars," Hermione sighed. "You didn't even graduate, you skipped out."

Both shrugged. "Same thing. We were just so smart that-"

"-that great toad of a woman said-"

"-we no longer needed further education-"

"-from beneath her. And so, we left for the real world."

"Here," said George, placing a Mud Splat pebble in Draco's hand. "Use that when you feel like it. Our way of apologizing." With waves, the twins started off, only for a small rock to bounce off of Fred's back. Seconds later, he was face first in the mud and George howling in laughter next to his twin.

**Lesson number two: Never turn your back to Draco when he's upset with you.**

The homework session by the lake passed without incident. Hermione managed to finish all of her homework she'd been assigned and had then taken Harry down to the shore and both had gone wading, both of their jeans rolled up to their knees and shoes and socks on the sand.

Bored to tears, Draco tore his eyes away from the paper they were supposed to be writing for Herbology on the three most deadly types of poisonous flowers and looked down at the water from his perch on a nice, large sun-warmed rock. He gave a start as he recognized two people creeping over to the shoes cast on the ground, Hermione and Harry oblivious.

Fred looked up and waved to Draco and then put a finger to his lips. The blond watched with interest as George poured something into Hermione's shoes and then they both took off, neither in the lake noticing them. A little while later, Draco now back to his boring essay, Hermione and Harry trudged up, their shoes in hand.

"Ready to go?" the Gryffindor asked, sitting down on the rock and pulling on her socks and then her shoes. "What's wrong?" she asked when Draco didn't answer, simply staring at her shoes.

"Hmmm? Oh, nothing. Come on, we'd better head back. Dinner will be ready soon."

Hermione nodded and jumped off the rock onto the ground. But as soon as she'd landed, she shot back up, sailing up…

And up.

And up.

And up.

And so high up that she was a mere speck in the sky, her scream echoing down to the earth.

"What happened?" asked Harry timidly, looking at the shrinking dot.

Draco shrugged and continued to look at the sky, watching as Hermione slowly began to get bigger and the screams louder. Instead of speeding towards the ground though, she gently landed on the dirt and immediately clutched onto the rock.

"What just happened?" she gasped. When Draco looked down at his feet, a smirk growing on his face, she knew something was up. "Tell me right now," she demanded.

"Let's say a certain set of twins tampered with your shoes." The next thing Draco saw were stars as Hermione slapped him across his face, her eyes burning embers.

**Lesson number three: Don't keep secrets from Hermione.**

The trio made their way back up to the castle, Draco nursing his stinging cheek from Hermione's hit and Harry walking tentatively next to Draco, giving worried glances behind him at the livid Hermione. "What exactly did you do to make her so upset?" he whispered.

"I didn't tell her those bloody twins put something in her shoes," Draco snorted. "And it wasn't really even my fault."

When the three entered the Great Hall, they realized they'd gotten off easy. McGonagall was running around the hall with an alligator chasing her and several students had been turned into incredibly tall evergreen trees. Huge, mirage holes covered the floor and students continued to run around them in panic, fearing they might fall in.

The famous fireworks of the twins were going off in random places around the hall, and many students were running away from them. On the benches, fellow classmates were turning into different animals after eating something off of the plates that happened to have a little of one of Fred and George's experiments.

"They've gone mad!" cried a small, red and black lemur, running over to Hermione.

"Ginny?" the girl asked incredulously. "Is that you?"

"What do you think? Yes! They turned me into a blasted monkey!"

"I thought you were too smart to actually fall for one of their tricks," teased Draco.

"I did not fall for it," the lemur sniffed. "I flew for it."

All three gave her rather puzzled expressions. "They tossed poor Neville in the air and I tried to catch him, seeing as Pansy and Blaise are tied up at the moment." Everyone looked towards the Slytherin table, and sure enough, the accident prone boy's guardians were bound hand and foot with rope. "I jumped off of the table and did catch him…but they'd sprinkled his clothes with some of their newest product…lemur powder. And as soon as I touched it…well, you can see."

**Lesson number four: Under no circumstance, try to catch Neville when the Weasley twins are in the room.**

"And they got Draco too," Hermione grinned. "He got the privilege of getting acquainted wit a mud puddle and a frog."

"I wouldn't be laughing. You were the one flying over two hundred feet in the air."

"At least nothing has happened to Harry," Hermione said thankfully, hugging the child. "Should we go get something to eat?"

"I wouldn't touch that food if I were you," Ginny advised, scampering up Draco's leg and settling herself comfortably on his shoulder. "Almost every other piece has one of their tricks in it."

"And the teachers all look quite busy," remarked Draco, as Flitwick ran by with mushrooms for legs and more of the toadstools chasing him. "Should we maybe tell them to stop?"

"I'm not going near them," Ginny shuddered, looking at her brothers, who were standing on top of the head table and overseeing their tricks.

"Why not? You're already a monkey. What else could they do?"

"Many things. And preferably, I'd rather not find out."

"Why don't you go up, Draco?" Hermione asked, giving him a push forward. "You're not scared, are you?"

Draco glared at the girl. "And why don't you? Gryffindors are the brave ones."

"I'd rather stay here and watch you turn into a tree."

"That's such a comforting thought." Giving Hermione one last evil look, Draco started off for the twins, dodging and weaving around the students. "Oy! You two!" Draco called, stopping a good five feet from the table.

George jumped down from the table and landed in front of Draco. "What did you think of our Flight Gel? Did Hermione have fun?"

"She's scared of heights. So I can't say she enjoyed it very much."

"Oops," he grinned. "Looks like we forgot that small detail. Do you need something?"

"By request of the lemur, I'm here to ask you to stop the tricks."

George pouted. "But we're just getting started. Isn't it a beautiful sight? Ah, look at Snape. Such a fitting picture." Draco did look and then he almost fell over in shock. The man was dressed in a Medieval style ball gown, complete with purse and a fan. "That's my godfather," Draco growled.

"Well, he shouldn't have eaten one of our Medieval Marshmallows…but he'll change back to normal in a few minutes," he said quickly. At that second, Snape did change back to his ordinary self, back in his black robes and a very dangerous scowl on his face as he headed for the twins. "Forge! We have a problem!" shouted George, pointing at the livid Potions master.

Both began to run across the hall, never once looking back. Bad mistake.

**Lesson number five: Never, ever, put Snape in a dress and try to get away with it.**

"ACCIO WEASLEY TWINS!" Snape bellowed, flicking his wand at the retreating forms. Instantly, their feet left the floor and they flew backwards, landing on the ground at Snape's feet.

"Errr, hello?" George grinned cheekily.

"We'll just be going now…"

"I don't think so," Snape grinned evilly. "Time to try some of your own treats."

**Lesson number six: What goes around comes around. **

Minutes later, too very embarrassed twins has been glued to the ground with one of their products and both had on beautiful dresses like Snape had been wearing, Fred in blue and George in a pastel green. Long, red beards hung from their chins all the way to their knees and a handlebar mustache hung beneath each of their noses.

The hall had now stopped panicking, as most of the tricks lost effect and everyone was snapping pictures of the twins, both of whom were curtsying and giving very feminine like waves to the crowd. Ginny had fallen off of Hermione's shoulder (she'd hopped off Draco's as soon as he headed for the twins) and was rolling around on the floor, now in human form.

"Nice one, Uncle Sev," Draco complimented, snapping a picture of Fred and George.

"Thank you," the man smirked. "I think it quite does them justice."

As soon as the charms had worn off, Fred and George made a formal announcement. "Thank you Hogwarts," Fred shouted to loud cheering.

"We truly appreciated your cooperation-"

"-in the testing of our new products."

"A list of new items is posted in every-"

"-Common Room and we hope you'll visit us soon."

In puffs of smoke, both twins once more disappeared, wanting to make a quick exit and not be hoarded by their adoring fans.

Once the Hall was quiet once more, students eating and talking, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement. "I'm sure you all quite enjoyed seeing our old students back again. But I must remind you to not attempt to use the tricks on teachers or staff. And by the order of Mr. Filch, no Mud Splats are allowed inside of Hogwarts." A collective groan rose and Dumbledore simply smiled. "Tonight, I also advise you stay within the castle…a large storm is heading this way. Nothing as bad as the last one we had, I can assure, you, but still quite strong."

Hermione looked over at Draco, who had suddenly gone slightly paler. "Are you ready?" she asked, reaching over Harry and giving his hand a small squeeze.

"No," he muttered. "Do we have to?"

"Yes. We made a deal."

"Well…who's going to watch Harry?"

Hermione turned to Ginny. "Hey Gin? Do you think you could watch Harry tonight? Draco and I have something to do."

"Something to do?" the girl asked raising an eyebrow. "Is this anything you don't want Harry to see?"

"Oh no," Hermione exclaimed, thankful Draco was talking to Terry and hadn't heard Ginny. "We're going outside to sit in the storm and I don't really think Harry should be out…it'll be way past his bedtime."

"I'm sorry, Mione," Ginny apologized. "I have a huge essay to do for McGonagall and I really need to concentrate on it."

"That's all right." In her head, Hermione went over other possible babysitters. Blaise and Pansy? No, they had retired to their rooms already and might be asleep. Lavender and Terry? Nope, Ron was out sick and she didn't want Harry to catch anything. So who could watch Harry?

"I have someone in mind," smirked Draco, noticing the thoughtful look on Hermione's face.

"Who?"

He grinned devilishly. "You'll have to wait and see."

**Author's Notes:**

And there's chapter 26! My, this story is getting long. Maybe I shouldn't do Hermione. -death glares from readers- Okay then, scratch that idea. To all of those waiting impatiently for Hermione's chapters…you don't have to wait long. Harry has next chapter and then the chapter after that he's back to being his sixteen year old self. He actually had more chapters then Draco (and don't even include the Teapot chapter!)

Also, if anyone read my profile, they'd have seen I've been suspended from updating anything until earlier last week. I supposedly went over the guidelines with one of my fics, Black is Our World, and it was deleted. Well, it's back up now and very thirsty for reviews. If you'd like to feed it, I'm sure the story will be quite content. I will be updating that one everySaturday until I run out of pre-written chapters.

And good news! **Parenting Class, My Hero, **and **The Power of a Wish **have all been nominated for awards at Dangerous Liasions! PC is in 3 categories, My Hero in 1 and POW in 3! Unfortunately, POW and PC are both in one of the same categories, so I guess I'll see how that goes. It's Judge's vote this time, but maybe you'd all like to vote for me for Reader's Choice? -wink-

And I did enjoy my break. n.n Thank you all for letting me have one! Now I'm back and ready to go on the next chappie already!

Thanks to all of the wonderful people who reviewed! They are:

kat6528, Emma-Lizzy-Black, Turtle Queen of Freeks, ERMonkey Burner of Cookies, irgova, Lyra Parry, power214063, LishaChan, phoenixtamer150, raisa, dan-lovr, Angelic Night Goddess, m1s7ress, edarcy200712, memommy27, gottalovedrakie, Airalynn, blackbird fly, Nachzes Black-Rider, Sunny June 46, kawaiitie, EosRaven, SouthSideFountain, Beach-Babi, scottishbabe110, hottennispro88, CrystalFireFlirt, XX-Dracos-Dark-Queen-XX, samhaincat, januarygarnet, Cold-eyes-for-you, HazyDayClearNight, wockygal, tigerlily727, anonymous!Matt, Bronwen, Slytherin ice princess, cuznhottie, Ju Ju Bee1000, SunDust25688, PhoenixPlume, pinkpenguin28, MysticStar7037(TsuirakuMitsukai), hermionerocks2008, LiLbLueangeL1223, cheer1556, Ptrst, Jenzyfer, kate, WannaBArtist, Hawaiian-Rachael, Cierra, Kiyoko, charmedsisters, I Think You're Retarded, Skyeseeker, citcat299, The Stump, shadowy dreamer, Chailyn Cole Runewood, scarlet-knight13, Rain-Pyr, lavnder halliwell, draco, Ti, MeLiO, Drackierox, Pip08, blah, insanity-is-my-life, ReademAndWeepOrLove, Alenor, Lady of the Realm, draco's gurl, Friday13, Rebell, elmolover614, mimi, Silver Shadow, Danny, Aleskris, HPbabe143, Her-My-Own-Nee, YamiClara, Krabby Patty, skysongscry, Orlandoroxmysox, kate, hp-fanfiction-hp, DingDongTheWitchIsDead, HgBookworm, XxXbloody nekoXxX, candy, freako76, lala-girl27, tinkabelle, Moonlight on the Water, BlackasNightColdasDeath7, sandram, Kat, tonksss, dotty, bellathedragon, Joei, Stormy Skies, humblelilbookworm, val, knivesgirl346, andcrazy azn angel

Twoquick notes:

**Ju Ju Bee1000**- I tried to contact you, but your e-mail wasn't displayed. No, I can't show your entry because people already voted. Two, you didn't e-mail it to me like I asked and therefore even if it had been on time it would have been disqualified.

**Kat- **Nope, silly random reviews don't annoy me. They normally make me end up smiling. And yours certainly did. :P And nice new phrase...I shall jot it down too. :P

Remember, reviews are always very appreciated. Especially random funny ones. :P I love how you guys always put a smile on my face. Thank you so much!


	27. New Bonds are Forming

**Disclaimer: You know…I'm finding it hard to believe I still don't own Harry Potter. Hey! Rowling! Can you hear me? I want HP! **

**Parenting Class**

**New Bonds are Forming**

Draco walked down the silent corridor towards the babysitter he hoped would agree. After dinner, Hermione had taken Harry upstairs to get him ready for bed and told Draco to go and bring the sitter he'd chosen.

Pausing outside the door, Draco raised his hand to knock. Rapping lightly on the wood, he could only hope his godfather would do as he asked. The door opened, revealing Snape with a scowl on his face. But it vanished as soon as he saw Draco and a smile replaced it. "Come in," he offered, gesturing for Draco to sit on the couch. "What brings you down here so late?" he asked, sitting down in his armchair.

"I had a favor to ask of you, Uncle Sev."

"Yes?"

"Well…Hermione and I are…well, we're going somewhere. And we couldn't find a babysitter for Harry and-"

"-You were wondering if I could watch him?"

"Yes," Draco said softly. "I know you don't like him much…but he's different, honestly."

"You want me to baby-sit Potter," Snape said evenly, steely gaze boring into Draco.

"Harry," Draco corrected. "And yes, please Uncle Sev?"

The Potions master sighed. "All right." He never could say no to his godson.

Draco gave him a grateful smile. "This means a lot to me…and Hermione too. And Harry is getting ready for bed…the most you'll have to do is read him a story and tuck him in. Just…just treat him like he was me."

"How soon do you need me?"

"Does now sound all right?"

"That's fine, just let me grab some tests to grade." Picking up a neat pile of papers from a shelf on the wall, Snape followed Draco out of his rooms and locked the door behind him.

"I'm back," Draco announced, stepping into the _Rainbow Room _with Snape blinking behind him at the colors. "Just let me go grab my jacket and then we can go."

Hermione exited from her room, a dark red windbreaker on to keep some of the rain off of her and her wand in hand with Harry following behind her. The child was dressed in a pair of light blue pajamas, the pants covered with little soccer balls. In one hand he held a storybook and with the other he was clutching onto Hermione's jacket and looking at Snape fearfully.

Butterscotch padded out after both of them and went over to Snape and jumped up on the teacher. "Down Butterscotch," scolded Draco. "He won't be much trouble," he informed Snape, holding tightly on to the collar. "You can put him in his cage if he gets to be too disruptive."

Letting go of the dog, Butterscotch ran over to Harry and sat down in front of him. "Harry, be good for Professor Snape, okay?" Hermione said, kneeling down before him. Harry nodded. "Good boy. I'll see you in the morning then." Giving him a soft kiss on top of his head, Hermione started for the portrait hole, Draco following reluctantly behind after giving Harry a goodbye hug. "Thanks so much, Professor," Hermione smiled.

As soon as the two left, Harry was left staring at Snape and Snape at Harry. "Would you like something to drink?" Harry asked timidly.

"No, thank you," Snape said shortly, sitting down on the couch and spreading out his papers in front of him.

Unsure of what to do, Harry sat down on the opposite couch, the book tucked under his arm. Butterscotch jumped up next to his young master and curled up to go to sleep. The only sound in the room was the scratching of Snape's pen as he wrote the scores on the papers.

After a few minutes, he glanced up to see Harry looking at him with bright emerald eyes.

'_Thank you so much Professor! Thank you!'_

'_Just…just treat him like he was me.'_

'_He isn't James, Severus. Give him a chance.' _

Snape snorted at the last thought that had invaded his head. Dumbledore had told him that as soon as Harry Potter had been admitted to Hogwarts. He knew of the deep hate Snape felt towards James and didn't want him to take it out on Harry. But he had.

"Would you like me to read you a story?" he sighed, stacking his graded papers back in a pile. Tentatively, Harry nodded and walked over to the couch, sitting about a foot away from Snape. Wondering why he was being so nice, Snape reached over and plopped Harry down on his lap, much to the child's surprise. "What story would you like?"

"You can pick, Professor," Harry whispered.

Taking the storybook from the child's hands, Snape flipped open to a muggle fairy tale, The Snow Queen. "Is this one all right?" Harry gave a tiny nod. Placing the book on Harry's lap, Snape said, "When we finish a page, you turn it, okay?" Harry gave another little nod.

"Once upon a time…"

* * *

"I don't think it's safe out there," observed Draco, gripping tightly on to one of the marble pillars in the deserted front hall. "Maybe we should just stay in here." 

"Draco, we're going out there," Hermione said, pointing out the door at the lake. "We made a deal, remember? And you're not going to back out of it."

"But why can't we just stay here?" he pleaded. "I can still see it."

"We're going outside," the girl said firmly. "The only way you'll ever be able to fully face your fear is to experience it. So we're going out. Now come on." Draco remained firmly attached to the pillar, his silver eyes focused on the floor.

Hermione gave a soft sigh and went over to the Slytherin, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard," she whispered. "But I'll be right there with you. I promise I won't let anything happen."

Slowly, Draco nodded and took a hesitant step towards the door before stopping. "Promise?" he asked quietly, refusing to meet Hermione's gaze.

"Promise," she smiled, taking his hand in hers and pulling him outside, giving it a tight squeeze to try and reassure him.

The storm hadn't yet started yet, though large dark clouds hung low in the sky and a chill wind was starting to brew. Draco paused on the top step and looked up, shivering as a streak of lightning shot down from the clouds.

"It's all right," Hermione comforted. "The thunder hasn't even started yet. Let's go sit down by the lake."

"Are you crazy? We could get hit by lightning!"

"We won't…trust me. As long as we don't go in the water, we'll be fine. You do trust me, don't you?"

"Yes…"

"Then come on…the storm is going to start in a few minutes and we should be ready." Draco allowed Hermione to pull him across the grounds; eyes staring vacantly back at the castle.

* * *

"RAAAWWRR!" 

Harry squealed and ran to hid behind the armchair, a large grin on his face. Slow, loud thumps sounded and he giggled, before darting to another hiding place.

After he and Snape had finished reading the Snow Queen, Snape realized that his charge wasn't quite tired yet. And during their reading time, both had reached a new point in their relationship as each realized certain things about the other.

Harry realized that Professor Snape was very good at telling stories; he liked to give each character a different voice. And that he wasn't as scary as Ron had dubbed him…sure, his hair could use a good scrubbing (Draco was really good at washing hair. Maybe Professor Snape would let him wash it…) and he almost always had a scowl on his face, but right now he was looking quite amused.

And Snape had finally discovered the long time truth Dumbledore had been attempting to show him since Harry's first year at Hogwarts. Harry really _wasn't _James. _'He's more like Lily,' _Snape realized, momentarily abandoning the chase and standing still to contemplate. '_He may look like his father…but he's caring and kind like Lilly…nothing like James.'_

And so, Snape had decided to attempt to tire Harry out as well as entertain him. He'd played this game hundreds of times with Draco when he was little and Lucius was out on 'business'. And it had always worked quite well on his godson and he was only hoping it would have the same affect on Harry.

The rules of the game were simple. Snape was the dragon and Harry was the little boy who didn't want to go to bed. He could stay up as late as he wanted until the dragon caught him and he was then tucked in.

Snape let out another roar and looked behind the chair Harry had just left. Spotting the child, hunched down beside the bookcase, Snape walked slowly forward, his steps purposeful and loud. Harry, seeing him gave another shout and dashed away from the Potions Professor.

"You can't catch me!" Harry laughed, speeding around the room in circles.

Snape merely smiled, watching as his current charge continued to run from one hiding place to the next. "I don't have to," he chuckled. "You're tiring yourself out." And true enough; Harry sat gasping behind the couch, his legs too sore to continue. "GOTCHA!"

Harry shouted as he was suddenly picked up and tossed in the air before landing safely back into Snape's arms. "To bed with you."

"Awww," Harry pouted. "Can you read me another story, Professor?"

"We'll see…now let's go brush your teeth."

As it turns out, a simple task like that could be quite hard…when Butterscotch is loose. As Harry was preparing to squirt toothpaste (Blue Sparkle!) on his toothbrush, the puppy had bounded in and grabbed the tube from Harry's hand.

Snape, who'd been leaning against the bathroom door, made a grab for the dog, but Butterscotch jumped out of reach and ran into Draco's bedroom. Harry leaped nimbly to the floor from the little step stool and tiptoed towards the Slytherin's bedroom, mouth dropping in horror.

"Draco isn't going to be very happy when he gets back," Harry whispered. Snape joined the boy at the doorway and felt his own eyes widen.

The puppy was sitting innocently on the bed, the destruction he'd caused done in a matter of seconds. All of Draco's books rested on the floor, pages torn out and covered in toothpaste. The blue gel also had soaked into the emerald carpeting and splattered the walls.

The pillows on Draco's bed were ripped beyond repair, feathers sitting on the tattered blanket and mattress. Inkpots were spilled on his desk, staining the dark cherry wood into various shades of black and green. The teenager's wardrobe doors hung open, the paneling scratched up with splinters on the floor. Clothing hung out, several pieces torn and every single shoe chewed.

Snape was surprised to hear another sound…a soft sniffling. Looking down, he saw Harry rubbing his eyes, tears already streaming from the large ivy orbs, before he burst into sobs, covering his face with both hands, trying to muffle the noise.

And Snape hadn't a clue what to do.

* * *

"Can we go back? Please?" Draco whispered, holding his black jacket tighter around his rather thin frame, face appearing to be even whiter then normal against the dark color. 

"It'll be okay," Hermione said softly, her grip tightening on the Slytherin's hand. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." At that second, a large burst of lightning crackled through the sky, the whole area being lit a dazzling shade of yellow. And then a few seconds later, thunder sounded, accompanied by the arrival of the rain.

Draco yelped in alarm and Hermione had to strengthen her hold on his hand to keep him standing next to her at the lake edge. The wind blew stronger, the wet spray of water soaking them both and making them shiver. "Can we go back now?"

"Are you still afraid?"

Another clap sounded and Draco jumped.

"We're going to stay until you realize it won't hurt you. Listen…what else do you hear besides the thunder?"

"Rain."

"And what noise does the rain make?" she asked gently.

"Soft splashes," he answered.

"Is it scary?"

"No."

"And neither is thunder. Now relax and close your eyes and just listen. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Draco did so, but as soon as the thunder rumbled in the distance, his eyes were wide open, stark fear showing clear as crystal.

"Why are you scared?" The question was so soft, barely heard over the rain pounding the earth. "What makes you so frightened?"

"I don't know," Draco responded just as softly.

"There's a reason behind everything," Hermione continued, wind whipping her hair out behind her. "What's yours?"

"I don't know!" Draco snarled, turning his back to the girl. "I'm going back up to the castle." Just as he turned to leave, Hermione yanked back on his hand, forcing him to come to a standstill.

"You do know," she murmured, honey eyes searching his face for the answer. "You just don't want to tell me."

"And if I don't want to, that's none of your business!"

"I was just trying to help," Hermione said quietly, trying not to make the Slytherin angrier. "If you want to go back to the castle, then go. I'm not stopping you."

Hermione turned to look at the lake, and Draco stood behind her, simply watching the girl. "It was my father," he whispered, voice fading into the wind. "That's why I'm afraid. It was the first time he ever hit me…when the thunder started."

The Gryffindor pivoted, eyes warm with sympathy and comfort. "Then the thunder really isn't the main cause of your fear…it's your father. He's the real thing you're afraid of."

* * *

The Potions Master knelt down next to the child, almost afraid to touch him. When Draco had been small, he'd never cried, not once. Snape had to wonder if perhaps Lucius had told him not to or if Draco didn't want to show anyone his feelings. So, he'd never had to comfort crying children. Now… 

"It's okay," he shushed, against better instinct drawing Harry into his arms. The boy immediately went rigid, displaying he was ultimately scared. "What's wrong?"

"It's my fault," he whispered, emerald eyes staring at the mess his puppy had made. "I ruined Draco's room. And he'll get really mad."

Snape puzzled over this. He knew his godson had a temper and could sometimes be downright dangerous if he was incredibly angry. But he also knew that Draco would never hurt the child he appeared to care for so much.

"Draco won't be mad at you," Snape comforted.

"Yes, he will," Harry sniffled. "I messed up his room."

"Your dog did that," the Potions professor pointed out.

"But Butterscotch is _my _dog."

"And I will take full responsibility if Draco gets angry."

Now it was Harry's turn to think over what Snape had just said. "Why would you take all the blame though?"

"Because I am watching you and any accident that goes on while I'm here will be directed at me."

"But you couldn't stop Butterscotch!"

"And neither could you," Snape pointed out. "Now, it's time for you to head off to bed and I'll clean up this mess later." Not leaving any room for Harry to protest, Snape strode into the child's room and tucked Harry beneath the covers.

Butterscotch jumped up on to the foot of the bed and gave Snape a lick across the cheek as if to say 'sorry'. The once golden fur was stained with various colored inks and feathers clung to parts of his tail. Snape sighed. "You're forgiven," he muttered, awkwardly petting the puppy on his head. "Good night Harry," he said gentler. "And don't worry…I'll take care of everything."

"Good night, Professor." Snape ruffled the boy's hair and then exited, blowing out the candle on his way out. The room was plunged into darkness and like he always did for Draco, Snape left the door halfway open so he could hear if his charge needed anything.

Going back to his godson's room, Snape began to flick his wand at various objects, some repairing themselves and others not. The pillows and blanket mended quite nicely, but the stain wouldn't leave the desk and the toothpaste refused to leave the carpet.

"At least the waterfall is intact," the man muttered. Despite how old Draco was, Snape knew the boy could still be afraid of the dark, especially on nights like this. Speaking of which…where had Draco gone? He'd been terrified of storms since he was about four, he remembered.

When he'd been over at the Malfoy's manor and a thunderstorm had come up without warning, Draco had turned from perfectly poised child to one who was bordering on the edge of hysteria. And when Snape had asked his tiny godson what scared him, his reply had been the thunder.

And if it was storming, then why wasn't Draco curled up in bed or next to the fire? "They went outside," he breathed, realization hitting him full force. What was going on?

As the man settled back onto the couch to grade more papers, the soft padding of feet sounded. Looking up, he saw Harry standing next to the couch with a large red blanket in hand. "Can I stay with you, Professor? Just till Hermione and Draco come back? Please?"

Snape smiled and nodded, pushing the tests back on to the table. Harry clambered up onto the couch and sat himself comfortably next to Snape, using the teacher as a pillow. Snape gently plucked the blanket from Harry's fingers and draped it over both of them, Harry's sleepy smile all the thanks he needed.

* * *

Hermione cautiously approached the Slytherin and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug, her head resting on his chest. He stiffened, but gradually relaxed, his chin resting atop her head. They stood like that in silence, the rain pounding down upon them, the cold seeping into their bones, but neither moved. 

"It's not your fault," Hermione whispered a few minutes later. "You have every right to be scared of him."

"I'm a pretty big coward, aren't I?" Draco muttered. "Scared of my father. Who else can say that?"

"You're not a coward…by being afraid it means that you do have fears and problems like everyone else. It's what makes you special…who you are. If you were perfect and not afraid of anything, then you wouldn't be a person."

Draco looked down at the girl in his arms, while she looked up at him. Her eyes sparkled with a warm fire, her cheeks pink from the cold. Wet ringlets of dark brown hair framed her face, her lips parted slightly in a smile. His eyes had lost the steel about them and seemed to glow, his bangs swept to the side of his head.

Slowly, neither of them registering what was happening, they began to move closer to one another, never once losing each other's gaze. His hand strayed up to cup her cheek; thumb gently caressing the warm flesh. Lightning shot from the sky, illuminating Draco even more against the black background, their lips almost touching, Hermione inhaling a breath as she realized what was about to happen but not doing anything to stop it.

And then the thunder sounded and both froze. "We should head back," Hermione whispered, still staring into Draco's eyes. "We'll get sick if we stay out much longer."

Draco nodded and Hermione took a step backward, heart pumping furiously despite how calm she'd managed to make herself sound. Draco too, felt his own beating erratically, his body hot though he felt so cold.

Hermione turned and began to walk back to the castle, Draco following silently behind. Sneaking down the corridor, the two made it safely back to the portrait, Leviculus snoring gently in the frame. When Hermione said the password, he opened it, though he remained sound asleep.

Draco and Hermione, both feeling quite awkward with each other at the moment, couldn't help but smile at one another at the two on the couch. Snape was sound asleep, one arm draped over the edge of the couch and the other resting on Harry's head. The child was asleep as well, a contented smile on his face.

"Hey, Uncle Sev?" Draco whispered, shaking his godfather gently by the shoulder. "We're back."

"Hmmm?" Snape slowly opened his eyes and blinked. "Oh."

Standing up carefully so he didn't disturb Harry, Snape stretched and collected his papers. "Was Harry any trouble?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Nope," Snape yawned. "Though the dog was…your room might surprise you a bit, Draco. I fixed what I could, but you might want to get some new things soon. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll head back down to my office."

Sweeping past both teenagers, Snape exited the room, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence behind. "I'll go put Harry back in bed," Hermione said softly. "Good night, Draco."

"Night," he whispered, disappearing into his own room. Not even paying heed to the damage, the Slytherin changed into a pair of dry clothes, and crawled beneath his covers, though he was anything but ready to sleep.

He replayed the night's events in his mind…they'd gone out to the lake…they'd watched the storm…he told her about his father…and then…then…

"She's my friend," he whispered, hugging Sparkles. "Nothing else."

If that was true…then why did he almost kiss her?

Only time would tell.

**Author's Notes:**

Three things. One, I'm incredibly sorry if this chapter wasn't up to my usual standards. I haven't slept in over four nights and I feel awful. Once in a while, I'll get these weird phases of insomnia and I'll wake up almost every few minutes...I've been running on sugar (mainly pixie sticks) for the last few days, so if you see major errors or the chapter is a little off, I'm sorry. I'm just too tired to come up with anything better.

Second, is I hope no one minds the scene jumping. I wanted to split it up so we were constantly seeing both groups. I think this chapter contained everything /except/ humor. Sorry for that too. I can't really write humorwhen I feel like I'm going to fall asleep typing though.

And three...WE HIT 2000 REVIEWS! -dances around (sleepy dance) and throws confetti- I can't believe PC actually got this many! Thank you so much! On honor of this wonderful occasion, everyone may recieve a set of Chibi Teacher Plushies! Remember...do not allow sugar around the Flitwick one.

And another piece of good news. My short story won fourth at the Lit fest! Pretty good since I wrote it during art class on the day it was due and never bothered to spell check. XD

Lastly,I'd like to beg all of you to please read the Author's Notes. I got a ton of people asking (again) when we'd see Hermione and I said it last chapter in the first paragraph of notes. So please, read them. They'll explain things.

I'm just off to upload this and then I must start on my homework. -yawns- I hope I can keep awake that long. As always, reviews are welcome and who knows...maybe they'll wake me up.


	28. The Entrance of a New Terror

**Disclaimer: I own my growing love for Chrno (from Chrno Crusade) but I shall never own Harry Potter or my Draco. See the _my? _That shouldn't be there. -sigh- Here I come Chrno! (Who I also don't own. I need to make an OC…just kidding!)**

**Parenting Class**

**The Entrance of a New Terror**

The next few days flew by in a blur, a whirlwind of color and sound. When Draco had awoken the next morning after the storm, Hermione had greeted him from the couch where she was reading a book, voice calm and even. Pretending nothing had happened. And Draco had replied in the same tone, realizing it was better to forget the whole matter. It'd be easier on both of them.

Butterscotch continued to wreak havoc on everything in sight, especially seeming to like Draco's shoe collection. The Slytherin had gone out and purchased new ones after the puppy had chewed his old ones, but there was really no point. Even when Draco had his door closed, Butterscotch managed to get in and attacked his shoes, each time leaving with one as a prize.

But they were slowly (very slowly) training the disobedient puppy. Hermione had found a book at the library and was having Harry start to teach the dog, often having a large bag of treats on hand for a job well done. But it still didn't stop Butterscotch from chewing Draco's shoes.

Potions classes weren't half as horrible as they used to be. Of course, Snape was never as nice to Harry as he had on his 'babysitting' night, but he wasn't mean either. More of a neutral with once in a while a small smile or a kind word at a random Gryffindor.

Draco had dragged his godfather off to the Hospital Wing after he congratulated Neville on his potion(which was even scarier then normal since Neville was only five and had only added one ingredient into the mixture)and had the mediwitch cast an examination on him, desperately hoping something was wrong. It wasn't the fact that he didn't like Snape being nice to others, but the fact that as Slytherins they had a reputation to uphold of being nasty. Not that Draco was sticking by the rules much…but Snape was supposed to! He was head of house!

But to the boy's dismay, Pomfrey pronounced Snape perfectly healthy. After that, Draco kept an extra eye on the Potions Professor; afraid he'd launch into song and hug a Gryffindor or some other scary image like that. The only thing that reassured him was when he pictured Snape giving the Weasley twins what they deserved.

Ron had developed a new sense of freedom after Lavender had pronounced him all better after his encounter with the Nundu. And unfortunately, Ron's new visions brought more disaster to those around him. Transfiguration class was a mess when the boy managed to let out a full cage of rattlesnakes that were supposed to be transformed into rattles. But with McGonagall and Hermione's quick actions, every single reptile had been stunned before they bit anyone.

He'd also managed to blow up half of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall (no one still had any idea how he got a hold of Terry's wand), turned everyone's hair rainbow colored, and irritate the mandrakes so badly in the Greenhouse next door that they'd all bit him and he'd gone up to the Hospital Wing to be treated once more.

Pansy and Blaise had their hands full the last few days with Neville, who seemed to have gotten an acute sense of paranoia after the storm and was convinced he was going to get struck by lightning unless he was touching one of his guardians at all times.

So, in light of Neville's _discovery _he had to be carried at all times or he wrapped himself about one of Pansy or Blaise's legs and would refuse to let go, making walking extremely difficult. Although this new fear of his did keep him from getting into more accidents, seeing as he was almost never walking around.

It was a nice, quiet morning with all of the Rainbow Room's residents still sound asleep, even Butterscotch. So Draco wasn't very happy when he heard the jester shouting that Professor McGonagall was here and needed to come in.

Grumbling and rolling out of his nice warm covers, he went to answer the portrait. "Yes, Professor?" he yawned, going over and flopping on a couch. "Isn't it a bit early for this? It's only seven."

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, I'm aware of that. I merely came by to drop off the potion for Mr. Potter. We've decided that it'd be best to give it to them while they're sleeping…we had several incidents last time."

"Like what?" Draco asked curiously, taking the bottle from McGonagall.

"I won't give any names out, but we had several guardians severely injured since the child thought it was poison. We were yelled at severely by one set of parents for disrupting their charge's sleep schedule, some missed dinner and others kept their childish antics though dinner. To avoid problems like that again, we'll be administering the potion to the child while he or she is still asleep so then they'll be awake by lunchtime, with hopefully no side affects this time."

"When does Hermione get the potion?" the Slytherin queried.

"In two days from now. So, on Monday morning I'll bring some down before classes start."

"All right…thank you, Professor."

McGonagall nodded and swept from the room to deliver the other potions before anyone woke up. "Was that McGonagall?" Hermione asked sleepily, exiting her room. "Does she need the prefects for something?"

"Nope. She came to bring this for Harry." Draco held up the red potion and Hermione's mouth dropped.

"It can't have been two weeks! We still had one left from yesterday!" She flew over to the calendar hanging on the shelf next to the bookcase, looking for the little red potion bottled she'd drawn signifying Harry's time was up. "What's today's date?"

"September twenty-ninth."

"But that's when…no…"

"It's time to change him back, Hermione. McGonagall wants us to give Harry the potion while he's still asleep…less complications that way. Look on the bright side, we get to have you next."

"You call that bright?" she snorted, wiping her eyes. "I'd choose better words Draco."

"Entertaining? Thrilling? Dangerous?"

"Last one sounds good."

"You love books. You love studying. All Harry and I will have to do is bring you to the library and we'll do fine." Hermione merely gave him a smile before turning and heading for Harry's room, Draco trailing.

The child was thankfully still sound asleep, one arm wrapped around Butterscotch and the other holding tightly on to the blankets. "Do you want to give it to him, or me?" asked Draco, fingering the bottle as he looked at Harry.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione said softly, sitting down next to Harry and running her fingers through the unruly hair.

Draco gently pressed the bottle into her hand. "You do it." The girl smiled at him through tears and uncorked it.

"Can you hold his head up? I don't want him to choke." Draco nodded and pulled Harry into his arms, the boy stirring but not waking up, though Butterscotch let out a slight growl and hopped off the bed, now too cramped for the dog's liking.

Seconds later, Harry had swallowed the cure, Draco placing his head back on the pillow and then moving so that when Harry began to grow bigger he wouldn't get in the way. Hermione, sniffling, hopped off the bed and stood next to Draco, both watching as the boy began to stretch out, his features becoming sharper and shoulders more broad.

"He's back," Hermione whispered, dropping to her knees next to her best friend, clasping the boy's hand tightly.

"Come on," Draco said kindly, pulling Hermione to her feet. "He'll wake up around lunch…sitting here isn't going to do anything."

The Gryffindor allowed herself to be hauled from the room and onto the couch, where Butterscotch looked up at them and whined softly. "It's okay," Hermione told the dog. "You can go see Harry now."

"So," said Draco, settling himself down in the armchair. "Anything you'd like to tell me about yourself before you turn little?"

"Nope," she smiled, taking a deep breath to control herself. She knew that at least when Harry was older he wouldn't be as changed as Draco, but the whole thing with Voldemort was going to creep him out. And of course, he'd never be able to look at McGonagall, Hagrid, or Dumbledore again…and never go in the same room with Snape. "You get to find out everything when you see me."

"That's not fair!" Draco pouted.

"How so? Harry and I didn't know anything about you. And neither of us knew about Harry."

"But you keep saying how you're dangerous…if we get hurt, you do know you're paying for it, right?"

"Can't say I do. As the parents, it's your job to watch out and make sure nothing happens to me. Or anyone else for that matter."

For the rest of the morning, Draco continued to try and pry something from Hermione, both still in pajamas and not quite hungry for breakfast. But Hermione did an excellent job of evading the questions, leaving Draco fuming and frustrated.

They were in another staring match (Draco kept winning them. Score 18-Love) when Butterscotch let out a short bark. Both turned to look at Harry's door, where the sixteen year old was emerging from. He gave them both a small smile, the dog in his arms.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione said, returning the smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted," he admitted, sitting down on the couch next to his fellow Gryffindor. "And a little shocked too…so much happened. I mean, I got a dog!" A thought suddenly struck Harry. "What am I going to do over the summer? My uncle will kill me if I bring him home!"

"Oh, you're uncle isn't going to do anything," Hermione growled. "I'm going to go teach that man a lesson."

Harry looked startled, then realized what he'd said as a child about his uncle. "Oh no, you don't have to do that, Mione! Really, I'm fine now."

The girl cast an appraising look over her friend. "So you get fed well? You don't do excessive cleaning? You have clothes that fit?"

"Yes," Harry assured. "Remus and a few others yelled at him right before summer last year, and said they'd be keeping an eye on me, and if I wasn't happy they'd come get me. And Moody scared them quite a bit so they've been fine."

"Still," she sniffed. "I'm going to go have a talk with your uncle anyway. What he did earlier in your life wasn't right, and I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

Harry sighed. There was no point in arguing since he knew Hermione would follow through with her quest. "But what do I do about Butterscotch?" he asked, scratching the dog behind the ears. "Even if you talk to him, I don't think I'll be allowed to keep him with me…Dudley is allergic."

"If you don't mind, I could take him to live with me. I don't think my parents would mind."

"Tell me, Harry," Draco smirked, eyes glinting playfully. "What are you going to say to Grandpa when you see him? And Aunt Minnie and Uncle Haggy?"

Harry moaned and put his head in his hands. "Do you think they might pretend it never happened? Actually, don't answer that," he said, as Hermione opened her mouth. "I'm more worried about Snape…"

Draco's smirk grew wider. "I must bring my camera for this," he grinned. "Oh, the horrors awaiting to be captured forever on film."

"And I have something even better," Hermione laughed. "I got some nice bonding moments between Harry and Snape. They're so cute together! Like an uncle/nephew relationship," Hermione corrected, seeing the looks of terror cross over both boy's faces.

"But how?" Draco questioned. "Neither of us were here…"

"True," she grinned. "But…" Crossing the room, the girl jumped up and pulled something off of the fireplace mantle. "I had it programmed to take a picture every two minutes," she laughed, seeing Harry's eyes widen in disbelief. "So we should have plenty of adorable moments to add to our poster!"

"Haven't these run out of film yet?" Harry asked desperately, hoping beyond hope that Hermione's camera had stopped taping before the night was over.

"They can't. They're made to never run out of film until we take the roll out to have it processed. Unfortunately, we have to give them back to Dumbledore at the end of the project…they're very expensive. But that's beside the point."

"So…are you okay with all of this?" Draco asked Harry warily. "I mean…I know I was pretty messed up…you feeling okay?"

"Aww, still playing the parent," Hermione smiled. "But seriously Harry," she said, turning to her friend. "You all right?"

"Yeah…I'm fine, really. A little shocked, a little surprised, a little embarrassed, but other then that, I'm pretty good. And I have some apologies to make. I'm really sorry about the dolls…I didn't mean to hurt either of you. And about the incident in the hospital wing the first day…I didn't intentionally have Pomfrey push Draco down the stairs or get you both mad at each other."

"It's all right," Hermione laughed. "We're over it."

"And I'm really sorry about the lance," Harry grinned, his face splitting.

"Oh, I'm sure you are," Draco grumbled.

"And I'm sorry for-"

"Harry, it's okay," Hermione interrupted. "You're forgiven. I mean, if I was to apologize for everything I do when I'm a kid, we'll be here for a few days."

"She's joking," Draco assured. "You are, aren't you?"

"Nope," Hermione chirped. "You two are going to be in for some major fun."

"But I really want to say…thank you. To both of you. Although the teapot thing-"

"I'm sorry!" cried Hermione! "I didn't mean to! I'm really, really-"

"You're forgiven. Although what I said was true; I really don't want to see tea for a while."

Draco nodded. "Just like I don't ever want to see a lance again…or another doll."

"How about we all head down for lunch?" Hermione suggested. "None of us have eaten since dinner last night and we can go meet up with everyone else."

"Sounds good," Draco and Harry agreed together.

After putting Butterscotch in Harry's room (Harry said that his puppy wouldn't chew anything of his, Hermione hoped he was right) they set off for the Great Hall. "Hey Harry!" Ginny greeted, running up and throwing her arms around his neck as soon as he'd entered.

"Nice to see you again," he grinned, planting a kiss on her cheek. "How's Ron doing?"

"Can you believe her?" the redhead in question snarled, coming up to the group and jerking his head at Ginny. "She lied to me! She said her last name was Weal!"

"And she saved you a lot of questions," Hermione laughed, hugging Ron to her.

"Still," Ron grumbled.

"And you know what I think?" Ginny continued. "Both of you are going to head up to the Head Table and apologize to Snape." Ron looked at her as if she'd sprouted four heads. "You owe him for saving your life after the staircase, not Harry's fault of course. And you especially Ron, need to apologize for the whole ballerina thing. Now go."

"You can't be serious," Ron moaned. "I was calling him Professor Scary, remember? I'll be lucky if he doesn't curse me as soon as I approach. I also stabbed him in the butt with a fork and did that thing in Potions with the animals and-"

"You stabbed Snape with a fork," Hermione repeated, a large grin filling her face. "Oh, you naughty, naughty Ron. Now you have to apologize."

"You can't make me," Ron sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, we can," Hermione and Ginny said together, drawing their wands and pointing it at him. "Now both of you go up there and say you're sorry."

"Better do as they say," Harry muttered. "I'm going." Ron, after shooting a death glare at his sister (he couldn't be mad at Hermione) followed his friend up to the Head Table.

"Can we go get something to eat while they talk?" Draco whined. "I'm hungry. And how about we eat at _my _table? You're all old enough to take care of yourselves, right?"

"Sure," Hermione agreed. "I haven't seen Pansy and Blaise in a while anyway. You game, Ginny?"

"Why not?" The trio headed over while Harry and Ron cautiously approached Snape.

"Umm…Professor?" Harry asked quietly. Snape looked up from his meal, a scowl on his face. "We just wanted to say," he continued quickly, "that we're sorry…for everything. And I wanted to thank you for…umm…being so nice to me when you watched me."

Snape offered Harry a hint of a smile, and the boy sighed, realizing he'd been forgiven. Turning to Ron, Snape waited for an apology. "I…Uhh…I'm really sorry too," Ron muttered. "About everything…specially the tutu thing and the fork…"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I'd expect you to be, Weasley. Why don't you go take your seat before I have you announce to the hall what you did." Ron gulped nervously and hightailed down to where Hermione and everyone were.

"Hello Harry, Ron," Pansy greeted, taking a bite of pudding and mentioning for the boy's to sit next to Blaise. "How'd the talk with Uncle Sev go?"

"Not too bad," Harry said, taking a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the platter. "He forgave us at least."

"I still don't think he's very happy with me," Ron glowered. "Stupid git…"

Draco, Pansy, and Blaise all glared at him. "He did save your life you know," Pansy pointed out. "You could be a little nicer."

"Fine, fine, I'll be nice."

"So it looks like you get to be little next," Draco smirked at Blaise. "That'll be fun."

"If you say so," the Slytherin sighed. "I'd much rather just skip it."

"I'll take good care of you," Pansy assured, smiling at Blaise from across the table. "And Neville will too…wherever he went." At that moment, the accident-prone boy came dashing into the hall and raced over to the Slytherin table. Before anyone could blink he'd thrown his arms around Harry in a hug, before quickly retreating.

"I'm so sorry Harry!" he exclaimed. "I never meant to bump into Hermione! I turned you into a teapot!" he wailed.

"It's okay, Neville," Harry comforted, standing up and patting the boy on his shoulder. "It was an accident."

"But I turned you into a teapot! What if you'd been stuck? Or if there was no cure?" Draco choked on his pumpkin juice as he burst into laughter.

"There wasn't one," he chuckled. Neville didn't wait around to hear the rest…he fainted.

"Next time, don't say anything," Hermione sighed.

"What do you mean?" Harry panicked.

"There wasn't a cure," Draco repeated. "It was discovered by accident while we were there though, so no worries."

Harry merely nodded, scooting away from Hermione in case she accidentally hit him with another spell.

The rest of the day, and the next one, passed rather normally. Harry did run into Dumbledore, and had blushed and looked down at his feet, mumbling professor the entire time. The man had informed him that as soon as the Parenting Class was over, he'd like it if Harry would get back into Occulmency since Voldemort had come so close in actually killing him. Harry had agreed, feeling that this time Snape might not be so bad.

He spent the rest of the two days, hanging out with Ginny. Draco had been alarmed when Harry didn't come back at eight to the portrait, and Hermione spent the next hour teasing him about how much of a parent he was becoming. She told him that Harry was a 'big-boy' now and didn't need constant attention.

On Sunday night, the three were gathered in their Common Room, enjoying the last day of peace. "You know," Draco said suddenly, stretched out comfortably in front of the fire. "There's something that's bugging me."

"What?" Hermione asked, sitting on the floor next to the couch with Crookshanks in her arms, Harry and Butterscotch having claimed the couch.

"When I was little, I remember Harry telling me he was afraid of the thunder too…but you were fine…"

"The only reason I was ever afraid was I had no one to go to when I got scared," Harry said softly. "I was all alone…but with you two here the first time and then Snape, I wasn't alone anymore."

Hermione smiled. "I'm glad we could help, Harry. Draco doesn't seem as scared anymore either."

"Only a little bit less," Draco admitted with a frown. "It just…I don't know…I just don't like it."

"There's another reason you're scared of it," Hermione said softly.

"Can we not bring that up? Please?"

"Sure," she agreed. "I think it's about time we all head off for bed anyway. You said McGonagall was coming tomorrow morning with the potion, right Draco?"

"Right as always," the Slytherin yawned, rising to his feet and stretching. "Well, good night you two." Lumbering off to his room, the door closed with a snap a second later.

"Night Mione," Harry said sleepily, picking Butterscotch up in his arms and heading for his own bedroom. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Harry."

Hermione retired a few minutes later, a feeling of dread but also excitement growing in her stomach. Tomorrow, she'd be five years old. Tomorrow, Draco and Harry would be in for the biggest fear of their lives. Oh, this was going to be fun.

The next day Hermione was up early, four thirty to be exact. Curled up on the couch with Crookshanks in her arms, she waited for Leviculus to call that McGonagall was there. Of course, she wouldn't take the potion until Harry and Draco were up…it wouldn't do them any good to be asleep when she went little…it'd be a disaster. At least if they were awake they would have a chance to defend themselves.

"Now remember, Crookshanks," she warned the feline. "If you want to remain safe, don't come near me. I can't promise I won't do something I'll regret later. And don't provoke Butterscotch. Both of you have been getting along pretty well, but don't try to scratch him, okay?" The cat meowed and nuzzled his face against Hermione's. "Good boy."

At six on the dot, Leviculus called into the room. "For anyone awake in their, Professor McGonagall has the potion." Hermione flew open to the portrait and opened it.

"My, you're up early, Miss Granger," the Transfiguration professor commented. "I'd say good luck, but seeing as you're the little one that won't mean much."

"Thanks, Professor. I'll pass the message along to Harry and Draco."

"Take the potion right before you come down to breakfast…I'll look forward to seeing you in class." As soon as she'd left, Hermione shook her head.

"I can guarantee you won't."

"Won't what?" asked Harry, exiting his room with Butterscotch on his heels.

"Oh, nothing. Hurry up and get dressed, and make sure Draco's moving too."

"Why the rush?"

"Look what I have," she smirked, an evil glint to her eyes. "My de-aging potion is waiting…"

"Hermione," Harry said calmly, though his voice was tinged with fear, "give me the bottle."

"Why?"

"Just give it to me."

"No," she growled, clutching it to her protectively. "I'm taking it…and if you don't hurry, I'll take it right now." That got Harry moving.

Running into Draco's room, several curses were heard as he dumped a glass of ice cold water on top of the Slytherin to wake him up, explaining the situation. Hermione simply smiled and went to get dressed in a clean set of robes and pull her hair back before she changed.

"You guys ready?" she asked, coming out and seeing both hovering nervously outside her door. "You'd better take my wand," she mused, pushing it into Draco's hand. "And I'll apologize now for whatever I may do to you. Remember, I can't help it."

Harry lunged for Hermione, desperate to get the potion away, but she swallowed it quickly. "Noooooo!" Harry wailed, looking at his friend. "Don't do this!"

"Too late," she smirked. "See you guys later."

A few seconds later, Hermione began to shrink, her hair becoming less bushy and her face rounder, until a little girl stood on the floor.

Both boys ran over each other's entrances in their heads.

'_Harry was calm,' _Draco tried to reassure himself. '_A little scared, but he was fine. She doesn't look too terrible.'_

'_He was really formal and a bit nervous, but Draco didn't do bad at all. Hermione can't be any worse.'_

The girl glanced up at them, her honey eyes looking each of them over, narrowing with each passing second. "You…"she said slowly, straightening up, "KIDNAPPED ME!" Without warning, she launched herself forward at the two frozen boys, teeth bared.

Harry yelled and sidestepped, narrowly getting hit by the girl's flying ponytail. Unfortunately, Draco wasn't so lucky. The girl sank her fangs deep into his leg, only then the Slytherin regaining mobility.

Screaming, he hopped about the room, attempting to shake Hermione from his leg, though she remained firmly attached, blood now staining the cloth. "HELP ME!" Draco shrieked, ramming Hermione against the couch and praying she'd just let go. And she did.

Only to jump up and sink her teeth into his arm, hands pulling at his hair, Draco screeching and stumbling around the room, pain exploding in his eyes. Dumbledore and Snape, who'd been passing outside the portrait, could hear the screams. "Should we go in?" asked Snape worriedly.

"Wait one minute," the headmaster said. "Perhaps Miss Granger is merely getting acquainted."

Back inside, Harry had run to his friend's rescue. Although little Hermione was having none of it. As he attempted to wrestle her off of Draco, she began to drive her legs into Harry's stomach and face. "I WON'T LET YOU HAVE ME! YOU KIDNAPPERS! YOU DIE NOW!"

"I really think we should go in, now," Snape said.

"I quite agree. Although I'm afraid I don't know the password," Dumbledore chuckled.

Snape looked at him, mouth moving although no words were came out. Dashing off down the hall, he began the long climb to Tobin's room, knowing his godson's life depended on it.

"YOU MUST DIE! YOU EVIL KIDNAPPERS! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"HARRY!" Draco screamed in utter terror, blood leaking from various scratches that adorned his face. "GET HER OFF!"

"I'M A LITTLE BUSY!" The boy-who-lived shouted back, trying to grab hold of Hermione's feet as she continued to kick at him, his glasses already shattered and lying uselessly on the ground, all of the images in the room blurs of color.

"GET UNBUSY THEN! SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT! KIDNAPPERS LIKE YOU SHOULD DIE! AND I'LL BRING YOU TO JUSTICE!" Looking over her shoulder, Hermione aimed her feet at Harry's groin, a large smirk on her face as he screamed in pain and fell to the ground, hunched over. "GOTCHA, YOU EVIL BOY!"

"HARRY? WHAT HAPPENED?" Draco shouted, as he now felt the legs kicking his back as the little girl launched a full assault on his poor body. "HARRY! HELP MEEEEEEEEE!"

Dumbledore sighed outside the portrait. Leviculus was smiling. "It seems they're bonding," the jester smiled. "Such a lively girl Miss Granger is."

"Are you sure you can't let me in? I am the headmaster."

"Very sorry sir. But I'm under strict orders by Professor Tobin to not open to anyone unless they have the password or it's an emergency."

"And this wouldn't be classified as one?"

"Nope, I'm afraid not."

Meanwhile, huffing and puffing up the stairs to the East Tower, where Tobin had her office. "ERIN TOBIN!" he bellowed, banging his hands on her door. "OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

The Parenting professor opened her office, hair in curlers and wearing a pastel blue nightgown. "Good morning, Severus," she yawned. "Isn't it a bit early to be yelling?"

"What's the password for the jester portrait?" he asked hurriedly, shaking the short woman by the shoulders when she didn't answer. "TELL ME ERIN!"

"No need to shout. It's Parvulus, but what do you…need it for?" she asked, watching as Snape was already off and running back down, chanting the word beneath his breath.

"I'M GOING TO DIE!" Draco sobbed, stars erupting in his eyes as the girl rammed his head against the wall.

"BEG FOR MERCY AND I'LL GRANT YOU A QUICKER DEATH!"

"MALFOY'S NEVER BEG!"

"THEN YOU WILL DIE! JUST LIKE YOUR FRIEND!"

"YOU KILLED HARRY?"

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"HOW DARE YOU KILL HARRY! WE NEED HIM TO DEFEAT VOLDEMORT!"

"YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I'M GOING TO DEFEAT YOU! PREPARE TO DIE, KIDNAPPER!"

"NEVER! I'LL NEVER LOSE TO A LITTLE GIRL!"

"YOU'RE ABOUT TOO!"

"Ah, hello Severus," Dumbledore greeted. "She's threatening them now. Do you have the password?"

"Parv…parvul…parvulus," Snape panted, leaning weakly against the portrait.

"Very good," Leviculus smiled. "In you chaps go." Swinging open, he allowed both staff members access and both took in the horrifying scene.

The couch was overturned, Butterscotch hiding in terror beneath an armchair. Harry lay curled up on the ground, moaning and holding his hands above his injured anatomy. Screams ricocheted off the walls, all issuing from Draco as the girl riding him, teeth now free from his arm as she used her mouth to scream at the boy and her legs to drive him into the wall like you'd steer a horse.

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Dumbledore shouted, his voice authoritative and commanding. Hermione immediately stopped torturing Draco and looked over her shoulder at the man.

"Oh, Sir!" she cried, sliding off Draco's back and racing over to the headmaster, Draco crumpling to the floor in pain, Snape running over to make sure he was still alive. "These terrible boys kidnapped me and-"

"You are perfectly safe, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, kneeling down before the child. "Draco and Harry will be your temporary guardians for the next two weeks."

"But they kidnapped me!"

"I can assure you that neither of them kidnapped you. I had a discussion with your parents and they allowed you to come and join our two week program where we have two of our students watch children of five years of age."

"So they aren't kidnappers?"

"That's right," groaned Harry, rising painfully to his feet. "You didn't even give us a chance to explain."

"Well, Miss Granger," Dumbledore smiled. "Welcome to Hogwarts!"

**Author's Notes:**

Awww, thanks so much you guys. n.n I did get some sleep this week, and I'm feeling much better. To a common question asked, my bouts of insomnia can last anywhere fromtwo days to about six. This time it lasted for five. And yup, lots of pixie sticks. Solid sugar really keeps me moving. XD If I had Mountain Dew, everything would have been even better.

Speaking of Mountain Dew, I've got a new poll question. Someone asked me, so I've decided to ask you. **Which do you prefer, Pepsi or Coke? **I know it might hurt some of you to hear me say this, but I hate both. Disgusting, yucky and vile drinks...my family thinks I'm insane cuz we always have pepsi lying around. And when we to to places and I ask for Sprite every single time, I get a few odd glances. :P

And now you've all met Hermione. Was she what you were expecting? I hope her entrance showed you what Hogwarts is going to be dealing with the next fourteen days...let's hope I live writing her. XD

Remember, reviews are always much appreciated!

Some notes...

**Kiwi-San**- I'd luv to join! But the link didn't come through in your post. TT Is it by chance the one you have as your homepage from your profile? If it isn't, would you mind e-mailing me the link? My email is in my profile, since whenever I try to post it here the formatting gets weird.

**Kat (the one who leaves her e-mail :P)**- Sure n.n

**MysticStar7037**- _Sleepy time for cyropi! _Oro? Is that my new nickname:P I've had kurohyou (panther in Japanese) and tsumetai-chan (Little Icy) but never that one. What language is it?

**sweetsyphn**- Aww, arigatou! n.n I hope your sister is feeling better about herself. Tell her I send her a hug!

**Amones of Magic**- Afraid I don't know of any, gomen. T.T

And to some other reviewer, who I can't seem to find the review, tell your friend I hope she feels better! And make sure you get some rest too!

A special thanks to...

darcy, cuznhottie, Jenzyfer, LishaChan, Mysteriously Intriuging Angel, raisa, tigerlily727, XX-Dracos-Dark-Queen-XX, Blue Burns Orange, BlackasNightColdasDeath7, CircleOfStone, hermionerocks2008, Slytherin in Mind, Steelo, demongirl12000, Sunflower18, Lightning Rain, trapped-in-a-dream, fairyp80, PhoenixPlume, EosRaven, chibi oniyuri, kat6528, J3LLO, shadowy dreamer, wockygal, me (the one who isn't Casey), MeLiO, Nachzes Black-Rider, Black Padfoot, kawaiitie, scottishbabe110, Cold-eyes-for-you, blackrosebunny, Airalynn, oiseau de feu, gtrlvr8877, Angelic Night Goddess, pinkpenguin28, charmedsisters, samhaincat, I'm Your Boogieman, catwraith, Kiwi-San, HPfreakout, HeyYouMadeMeThrowUpALittle, Kat, tonksss, MoosiesRule, gottalovedrakie, sphinx12, LiLbLueangeL1223, Alenor, WannaBArtist, Matt, Ti, Rebell, taralynetteC, pink-helga, Luna, sisko66002, The Stump, scarlet-knight13, HgBookworm, Rain-Pyr, CrazyforWill, Sasqwish, draco's gurl, anonymous, Emma-Lizzy-Black, Bunny Rabbit Or, ConstantineRocks, Thee-Unknown-Factor, insanity-is-my-life,amrawo, PART-TIME SINNER, Luna, MysticStar7037,Poemzie the Phoenix, knivesgirl346, Lady of the Realm, sweetsyphn, Chailyn Cole Runewood, Lyra Parry, YamiClara, Eliot Z. Wheatherbee, Looby Lou, Aleskris, Regina the Queen of Random, lostfallenangel, coffeentoffee, Amones of Magic, irishgirl686, xXxThe coldness of lovExXx, HD4evva, Sloane Miette, Red and Gold, Ptrst, Jo, randomunicorn, obseZzionZzZ, CareBearErin, johanna, and dan4me


	29. GIMME THE MAGIC!

**Disclaimer: Yay! I found my pink rock I bought in Arizona! But guess what? I still don't own Harry Potter! **

**Parenting Class**

**GIMME THE MAGIC!**

"What's Hogwarts?" Hermione asked innocently, though her eyes twinkled with mischief.

Harry and Dumbledore glanced at each other. "It's a boarding school," Dumbledore answered carefully.

"Why are you all wearing such funny clothes?" The child pointed at the wizarding robes on both figures. "Why am I wearing them?" she cried, realizing that she too had them on.

"It's part of the uniform," Harry said quickly. "I got a set on you while you were kicking Draco." Of course, that wasn't true, but Hermione seemed to buy it.

"Why do you have a pretty picture on yours? I want one!" she complained, pointing at the Gryffindor badge on Harry's robes. As soon as she'd turned little, her badge had left the articles, since her house was undecided and she was too young to attend.

"They symbolize our houses…like clubs," Harry answered. "I'm in Gryffindor and Draco's in Slytherin."

"Albus, I think Draco needs to be taken to the Hospital Wing…he's in pretty bad shape," Snape interrupted, looking up at the headmaster.

"Well then, Harry," Dumbledore smiled. "You may either accompany Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing and have breakfast there with Miss Granger or you can take Miss Granger down to breakfast."

"I'll take option one," Harry blurted. "Can we have breakfast brought up for all of us though? Draco might be hungry when he wakes up."

"I'll see it done to," the man chuckled. "Severus, come along; we must report downstairs. Harry, kindly escort Mr. Malfoy there. Have a nice day." Still laughing, he exited the portrait hole, flicking his wand back at Harry's glasses right before he left, the shattered glass repairing automatically, although all of this was missed by Hermione as she knelt next to Draco and poked him in the stomach.

Draco groaned and half-heartedly tried to crawl away, though his body was too exhausted to go more then a few centimeters. "DING-DONG!" Hermione bubbled happily, poking Draco's belly button. "DING-DONG! DING-DONG!"

"I think that's enough," Harry intervened, catching Hermione's hand before she managed to jab Draco again. "Can you walk in front of us to the Hospital Wing?"

Hermione snorted. "You don't think I can walk? What do you take me for, a baby? I can do more then walk. I can kick-" she emphasized this with a blow to Harry's shin- "and bite-" she launched her teeth into the poor boy's arm and Harry screamed- "and pull hair-" both hands grabbed tufts of the unruly black locks and yanked, several pieces falling out- "and scream…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! See? Now, is it can I walk or will I walk? You have to use correct grammar."

"Will you please walk in front of us?" Harry cried, one hand nursing his head and massaging the spots where his hair had been ripped out and the other clamped tightly on the bite marks. "Please?"

"Sure," she smiled, hopping so that she stood in front of Harry. "Well…what are we waiting for? Let's go already! I'm hungry!"

"_You _will have to be patient. It's your fault that we have to go to the Hospital Wing in the first place," Harry retorted, helping Draco to stand up and draping one of the Slytherin's arms around his neck for balance. "Now, nice and slow…I don't think Draco wants to go very fast."

"Damn right," Draco muttered, wincing as he took a step forward.

"Watch your language," Harry reprimanded, steering Draco carefully out of the room and Hermione fortunately obeying and walking directly in front of them.

"She swore first," Draco grumbled, nodding his head at Hermione, who smirked.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, pausing in the hallway. "I thought we were going!" whined Hermione. "Move!" When Harry took no notice, attempting to remember the child swearing, Hermione gave an agitated sigh and kicked Harry on his already bruised shin.

He promptly jumped and lost hold on Draco, the poor Slytherin falling to the ground with a thud and a groan. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Harry shouted, hopping around the hall and clutching his leg to him. "THAT HURT!"

"I'M HUNGRY! AND YOU'RE MAKING ME WAIT! NOW HURRY UP!"

"I _DON'T _HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU! YOU'RE A LITTLE GIRL!"

"YOU _WILL _LISTEN TO ME! OR I'LL KICK YOU IN YOUR WIENER AGAIN!"

Harry growled but decided to escape without bloodshed and hurt areas. "Fine," he snarled. "You win this round, but you haven't won the war. We'll get going. Come on Draco."

The Slytherin moaned from the ground. "I can't move…" Harry, already in a bad mood, wrenched Draco up by his arm and proceeded to drag him down the hall, ignoring the protests from the blond as his body was banged up even more. Hermione led the duo, a large grin on her face, happily following Harry's directions of 'turn here'.

They (fortunately for Draco) arrived at the Hospital Wing a few minutes later, the Slytherin now unconscious after banging his head on a corner when Harry turned too sharply and Hermione beginning to grow grumpy once more.

Madam Pomfrey, hearing loud footsteps, exited her office and groaned when she saw who was entering. "Already, Mr. Potter? It's the first day!" Seeing Draco, she let out a gasp. "Oh my, what happened to him?"

"I did it!" Hermione smiled. "And I kicked Harry in the wiener!"

"Goodness! Are you all right, Mr. Potter?"

"I'm fine," Harry muttered. "Might not be able to have kids…but after this, I'm not sure I want to."

The Mediwitch nodded and began to examined Draco, rubbing some ointment on his cuts and beginning to cover him with small band-aids, which had been introduced into the wizarding world earlier that year and had become insanely popular.

"Give me my breakfast," Hermione demanded, quickly growing bored of watching the nurse bandage Draco.

"It's right there," Harry said, pointing at a tray sitting next to the window. "Go sit down quietly and eat so Draco can recover in peace."

"You also injured him, Mr. Potter," Pomfrey informed. "Dragging him here wasn't the best choice. He's got a bruise forming on his arm where you were holding on to it and a rather large bump on his head from a run in with what I can presume was a wall."

Harry shrugged. "What I did was minor. I swear, that girl is evil!" Luckily for Harry, Hermione was too busy examining the breakfast selection.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy is all patched up…he should wake up shortly. Make sure he eats something…I'll be in my office if something drastic happens." That said, the nurse patted Draco's hand and went into her office, the door closing with a firm snap behind her.

Hermione's brown eyes looked inquisitively over the selection. Several bagels, a few doughnuts- '_yummy'- _a plate of buttered toast with packets of jelly, several choices of cereal- '_No way!'- _and oatmeal. A rather fitting meal. Selecting a chocolate cream filled doughnut from the plate, after all she never got this kind of junk food at home, Hermione glanced at the drinks.

One percent milk, a pitcher of water, a thermos of hot chocolate- _'I think I'll have some of that later'- _and some strawberry milk. '_Not a bad selection…but…'_

The girl walked calmly over to Harry and Draco, the latter just beginning to wake up and looking wildly around for any sort of danger with Harry apologizing over and over for the extra injuries. "Oh look," Draco smiled, noticing the breakfast tray and not Hermione. "A chocolate sprinkle doughnut; my favorite!"

"Uh oh," Harry muttered, seeing the girl gliding over to them, an almost too sweet of a smile on her face. "Something's up."

"I don't see what's wrong…she's got a doughnut. Kids love sweets like that."

In Harry's mind, he was attempting to rethink a memory he knew he should remember…something about broccoli? No…that couldn't be right.

"Harry," Hermione simpered, voice coated in sugar and honey. Too sugary to let either boy feel comfortable.

"Yes?" Harry asked uneasily, not liking at all how Hermione was getting closer, the doughnut now out of the way on a spare bed and both of her hands extended with the nails pointing towards him.

"I've got a little…question for you? Would you like to answer it?"

"Not really, no." Seeing the girl's cinnamon eyes harden he quickly changed his mind. "I'd love to hear it," he squeaked, putting up both hands in a block in case she tried anything.

"Good. There's one thing I like to have with my breakfast every morning…"

"_Hi there, everyone. I'm Barb and I'll be your waitress for today. Can I get you anything to drink?"_

"And Mommy and Daddy always make sure I have it…"

"_These two," Hermione said, pointing at the children, "will have milk and I'll take a cup of orange juice."_

"But for some reason, it isn't here…"

"_It's what gave me my dashing good looks," the dark haired boy joked, throwing a charming smile at Hermione. "I grew up on it instead of fruit juices…my mother is allergic to all citrus fruits and she hates apples."_

"And it's making me rather angry. Tell me Harry…"

"_I'm sorry," said Hermione, "I would never have made it through my childhood without my daily…"_

"Where is my…?"

"_Orange juice."_

"Orange juice?"

"Shit," Harry swore, backing fearfully away from the girl, who was preparing to pounce. "Listen, Hermione. I don't have any orange ju-" he broke off his sentence with a scream as the girl launched herself at him, teeth sinking into his nose and knocking his glasses off.

Draco immediately scrambled off of the bed so that he wouldn't be in harm's way…too bad for him he was a little late. Hermione kicked down with her right foot and caught Harry once more in a now very tender and sore spot for him. Leaving the boy howling on the floor in pain, she jumped on top of Draco, scratching his face and biting his head.

The Slytherin began to run around the room, not able to see where he was going thanks to Hermione's hands continually blocking his vision, screaming and crashing into various objects. Harry had just recovered enough to uncurl only to have Draco run on top of him, his foot squashing Harry's face.

Seeing that Draco was going full blast running into various objects, Hermione jumped off and watched in satisfaction as the Slytherin plowed head first into a stone chimney and fell to the floor, not moving. Shouting in glee (happy to be getting revenge) Hermione hurdled on to Harry's back, the Gryffindor having just risen from the floor. Covering his eyes, Hermione squealed in excitement as Harry began to run wildly around in circle, desperate to throw the girl off.

Pomfrey, finally deciding she couldn't ignore the screams, exited the safety of her office to find out what the problem was. The sight she saw made her blood run cold.

'_It can't be Miss Granger…that horrible child cannot possibly be her. Look at the mess! The damage! The boys! Oh, Merlin! The boys!' _"STUPEFY!" she shouted, flicking her wand at Harry to stop him from running in pointless circles.

The boy froze in mid run and slowly fell forward, Hermione sitting quite confused on top of him. Looking up, her eyes lighted on the wand in Pomfrey's hand, eyes magnifying several times their normal size. "Magic," she breathed, the nurse suddenly feeling very vulnerable. "I WANT THE MAGIC! GIMME THE MAGIC!"

The Mediwitch screamed as Hermione abandoned Harry and charged the woman, a crazy gleam in her eyes. Pivoting, Pomfrey ran out of the Hospital Wing, Hermione hot on her heels. Her shrieks echoed down the corridors and many students poked their heads out of the classrooms to see what the commotion was.

They all simply stared at the rather strange spectacle, wondering why a small girl was chasing the Mediwitch screaming 'gimme the magic' at the top of her lungs although she could barely be heard over the nurse's screams.

In Transfiguration, a certain redhead looked up from the notes they were supposed to be taking on turning a candle into a picture frame. "I know that voice! That's Hermione!" Leaving Terry to watch Lavender, he leapt out of his chair and dashed into the hall, a large grin on his freckled face as he saw the little girl coming down the hall, Madam Pomfrey right in front of her.

"Hermione!" he cried, catching the girl and wrapping her in a bear hug after Pomfrey had passed by. "What are you doing chasing the poor-"

"STUPEFY!" Pomfrey shouted, turning and aiming her wand at Hermione. Regrettably, Hermione chose that moment to kick Ron in the stomach and drop to the ground, the spell colliding with the redhead and rendering him frozen on the floor.

Digging through his pockets, Hermione emerged victoriously with a wand, a maniacal grin spreading across her face and her laughter ringing down the hall. "Now I have magic too…MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What's going on out there?" demanded McGonagall, coming to the doorway with the whole class behind her, several of the children looking at Hermione curiously.

"Don't…go…near…her," the Mediwitch panted. "She's…dangerous…"

"You'd better believe it," Hermione smiled, twirling the wand in her fingertips. "And I'm going to turn you all into toads!"

"You're too young to be doing magic," McGonagall said primly. "If you'll give me back Mr. Weasley's wand…" the teacher held out her hand expectantly.

"No. It's my magic now! I got it fair and square and I'm not giving it back!"

"Miss Granger! I am a teacher here at Hogwarts and you will do as I say."

"NO! IT'S MY MAGIC! HOCUS POCUS!" she cried, waving the wand and pointing it at the teacher. Several students screamed as an explosion of green smoke coated them all. In a matter of seconds it faded…although McGonagall's new accessory didn't.

"What happened to Hermione?" whispered Neville, watching in horror as the girl got off of Ron and slowly began to walk towards the class, the wand brandished like a sword in front of her. "I thought she was nice."

"Dunno, don't care. Just whatever happens, we have to protect Blaise," Pansy said firmly. Neville nodded. He certainly didn't want his charge getting a pair of white bunny ears attached to his head. Or his own for that matter.

The Transfiguration professor gingerly touched one of her new ears, disbelief covering her face, before backing slowly away from the child.

"I did magic!" Hermione squealed, bouncing up and down on the ground. "I did magic…I DID MAGIC! AND I'M GOING TO DO MORE MAGIC! HOCUS POCUS! HOCUS POCUS! HOCUS POCUS!"

The class began to dive for cover from the insane child, although not many were lucky to escape her wrath. In fact, none were. Pretty soon, all of the students were screaming and running around the room just to keep out of range of Hermione, all of them wearing a pair of white rabbit ears.

Pomfrey, the only one who was rabbit ear free, dashed off down the hall to the headmaster's office for help…they would surely need it.

Back in the Hospital Wing, Harry rose gingerly to his feet, the stunning spell finally having worn off. Picking up a pitcher of water from one of the nightstands, he dumped the contents onto Draco's face, the Slytherin waking with a scream.

"Hermione's loose," Harry informed Draco, after he'd finished screaming and looking around for the devil child. "We should probably go look for her."

"Are you crazy? Barricade the door while we still have a chance!" Ignoring his myriad of injuries, Draco stumbled upwards and raced to the door, throwing the lock into place. "Not good enough," he realized. "An alohamora could open it up."

Harry watched in amusement as Draco proceeded to push every available piece of furniture against the door, using his wand to stack several of the beds on top of one another until they bumped the ceiling. One bed was left in the corner, which Draco took shelter behind and yanked the blanket off to cover his head.

That just happened to be the bed Hermione had left her doughnut on…and it fell straight into Draco's lap. The Slytherin was too tired to make his way over to the breakfast tray by the window and instead opted to eat the child's breakfast.

Harry came and sat down next to the blond, grabbing part of the blanket and tossing it over his head as well. "Are we safe now?" he whispered, reaching out to take a piece of the doughnut. Draco growled and Harry withdrew.

"Probably not," Draco whispered back after a thoughtful pause. "What happened exactly? She was on me and then everything went black."

"You crashed into the chimney," Harry said dryly. "She wasn't even on you when you crashed…so you did that by yourself."

Draco glowered silently before going back to questioning. "What was she talking about in the hall? About kicking you?"

"Nothing," Harry said shortly. "Just leave it."

"Okay…well, how did she get out of here?"

"She saw Pomfrey use her wand to stun me…and Mione didn't know about magic yet, so she got really excited and took off after Pomfrey. Poor lady…I hate to think of what horrible disaster has befallen her."

"Agreed," Draco nodded. "We'll just stay here…it's safest."

Both lapsed back into silence (Draco into eating Hermione's doughnut again) while elsewhere in the castle it was anywhere but quiet.

"WHERE ARE HER GUARDIANS?" screamed Ron, finally having regained movement and was now huddled down behind McGonagall's desk with Terry and Lavender, the girl wailing and pulling at her ears. "THEY SHOULD BE WATCHING HER!"

"I DON'T LIKE MY EARS!" the child cried, now ramming her fists into Ron. "MAKE THEM GO AWAY! NOOOOOOOWWWWW!"

"I CAN'T! JUST LEAVE THEM!"

"BUT THEY'RE UGLY! THEY DON'T MATCH MY HAIR!"

"Some things never change," Ron muttered, not even able to hear himself over the screams of his classmates.

A small body came hurtling over the desk, and landed with a plop in Ron's lap. A tiny, black haired boy looked up at the redhead, his brown eyes wide with fright. A second later, Pansy and Neville tumbled over as well. "FANCY SEEING YOU HERE!" shouted Pansy. "I THOUGHT YOU'D TRY AND STOP HER!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY? I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"YOU'RE A GRYFFINDOR," the Slytherin pointed out. "NEVILLE'S A BLOODY COWARD TOO!"

"I AM NOT!" the clumsy boy defended. "I'M JUST COMPLETELY TERRIFIED OF THAT GIRL! SHE ISN'T SANE!"

"BOO!" screamed a new voice, jumping over the desk and landing behind the teenagers.

"IT'S HER!" they all yelled in unison.

Hermione looked thoughtful for a minute. "DO YOU GUYS PRACTICE TALKING TOGETHER? IT'S REALLY COOL!"

"NO!" Terry screamed. "BUT YOU CAN LEAVE US ALONE AND WE'LL DO IT AGAIN!"

"BUT I LIKE USING MAGIC! LOOK AT MY NEW TOAD!"

Reaching into her pocket, Hermione held up a dark green toad with a pair of bunny ears attached to its head.

"WHO IS THAT?" Pansy cried in alarm.

"THAT TEACHER! I THINK SHE LOOKS BETTER THIS WAY!"

"YOU DON'T TREAT TEACHERS LIKE THAT!" Ron shouted. "GIVE ME BACK PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL!"

"NO! SHE'S MY TOAD! I WANNA KEEP HER!"

And so began the battle of tug-apart-McGonagall as Ron grabbed the toad's legs and Hermione the bunny ears, neither willing to give into the other side, and neither taking into account the poor professor.

At a different, calmer level in the castle, Pomfrey was pacing in front of Dumbledore's desk, simply wringing her hands and mouthing words, although nothing was coming out. The headmaster knew that whatever had happened had frightened the poor witch out of her mind.

"Sit down, Poppy," he said gently, making a plush chair appear behind her. With a loud thump, the nurse sat, though she continued to squeeze her hands. "And have a cup of tea," he suggested with a smile a cup of the steaming brown liquid forming in her hands. "And once you've calmed down, tell me what's wrong."

Taking a few sips, the Mediwitch finally felt well enough to explain. "It's Miss Granger, Albus. I don't know how the potion had that affect on her…but she's awful! Simply awful!"

"I know," Dumbledore chuckled. "I had an encounter with her this morning. Quite a lively little thing…Hogwarts will be quite interesting for the next two weeks."

"But Albus! You don't understand! She's dangerous! Last I saw, she was giving Minerva's sixth year class rabbit ears after robbing Mr. Weasley of his wand! She has to be stopped! Please, can we not change her back?"

"She can't be all that bad, Poppy. She's just a child…give her a chance."

"But Albus…"

"I'll go see what I can do," Dumbledore smiled. "Come along…the whole thing has probably already been solved."

Dumbledore was far from right.

When they arrived outside the Transfiguration classroom, both could only stare as the students screamed and continued to dive for new places of cover, a small girl with brown hair standing on top of McGonagall's desk with a large collection of toads all tied together in her arms and all wearing a set of bunny ears, with a wand clutched firmly in her hand, which she was using to shoot out random spells.

"See?" Pomfrey cried. "She's mad Albus, mad!"

"I'll fix this," the wizard said grimly, stepping into the room, the noise level suddenly becoming deafening. "MISS GRANGER!" he bellowed. "STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!"

The entire class froze and the screams faded as they recognized their rescuer.

"You!" Hermione spat, jumping off the desk and carrying her toads. "You lied to me, you evil man."

Dumbledore looked taken aback. "Pardon, Miss Granger?"

"You said this was a boarding school!"

"And it is."

"But there's magic here! And you didn't tell me!"

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore apologized. "It must have slipped my mind."

"Pick me up!" Hermione demanded. Miffed by the change in conversation, Dumbledore did as he was told, not wanting to end up like the rest of the class. But as soon as she was settled in his arms, one fist snaked up and caught the old man in his chin, snapping his head back.

Before Dumbledore could react, Hermione jumped from his arms and slid down his beard like a fire pole (she was very good; having always done this at park next to her house) ripping out half of his beard in the process. "Never," she said icily, Dumbledore's beard clutched in right her hand and the toads in her left, "forget about magic."

The whole class stared at the girl, Dumbledore looking down his nose at his incomplete beard. "I must inform you, Miss Granger," he said, the twinkle gone from his eyes, "that you are to treat your elders with respect."

"Why? I don't have to be nice…I'm only nice to Mommy and Daddy and I'll only listen to them."

"Then we have no choice but to send you back. If you cannot comply with a simple rule then I'm afraid Hogwarts is not the place for you," Dumbledore said gravely.

"Oh, please Sir!" she cried, throwing herself at his feet and dropping the beard and toads. "I'll be good! I promise! Please don't send me back!"

"One chance, Miss Granger. If you hurt the staff or myself again, then you will go home."

"Yes, Sir," she said meekly. "Can I go eat my breakfast now?"

"You haven't eaten yet?" asked Pomfrey. "But there was a whole tray of food inside."

"But it was missing my orange juice. And then I got mad at Harry when he said he didn't have any."

"Where's Minerva?" asked the Mediwitch suddenly, looking around the room for any sign of the professor, after noticing the woman's absence.

"The teacher?" Hermione asked. "She's right here…this one I think," she said proudly, picking up one of the toads and holding it up. "Can I keep her like this?"

"Certainly not!" the nurse cried. "Change her back right now!"

"How?"

"Well, that certainly complicates things," Dumbledore buttered, fingering his ripped beard with a thoughtful expression. After a moment, he pointed his wand at himself and muttered a few well chosen words. Seconds later, his beard hung not even a half a foot from his face, since that was the only part that wasn't cut in half. With a last flick, a dark blue satin ribbon wrapped itself around the base of the beard and tied itself into a neat little bow.

"This is no time to be fixing you hair, Albus!" snorted Pomfrey. "We have a teacher and several students who are all _toads! _And the entire class has _rabbit ears!" _

"Do you know how to change them back, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore inquired. "Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll have to give you detention with Mr. Filch."

"I'll change them back! Just promise me I can have breakfast after I do it!"

"You may have breakfast when they're back to normal," the headmaster agreed.

"Okay…let me think. 'Hocus pocus' gave them bunny ears. Maybe I have to say it backwards to reverse it! Sucop sucoh!" she bubbled, pointing her wand at Seamus. The teenager yelped as the ears changed to a pair of antlers and his head fell to the floor, the weight too much for him to hold up. "Well, it's an improvement."

"Improvement?" screeched Seamus, trying unsuccessfully to rise from the ground. "This is not an improvement! Give me back the bunny ears!"

"I think I might know the right spell," whispered Hannah, Seamus' partner. "Could I try, Professor?"

"Be my guest, Miss Abbot."

The brown haired girl smiled and flicked her wand at a Hufflepuff. "Lepus mimi absentis!" The ears vanished and the student cheered.

After several minutes, everyone, including the toads, had been de-eared and the entire class was now looking through the numerous textbooks lining the shelves to find a spell to undo the toad transformation.

"Hey! Here's a book on toads!" cried little Padama excitedly. "Look Parvarti!" Both identical twins hunched over the book and the younger one (Parvarti) read the passage aloud.

"To turn your toad successfully into a jewelry box you must…nope, that isn't right, is it?"

"Afraid not. But nice try," smiled Hannah.

"I found something!" Seamus cried, flipping through a book on the floor. "Oh…wait, never mind. It's about boiling toads to bleed the mucus from their eyeballs."

"That's just gross," a Ravenclaw shuddered. "What would a book like that be doing in a Transfiguration classroom?" Seamus just shrugged and picked up a new book from the pile that a kind student had set next to him.

"Ribbit!" croaked one of the frogs, hopping excitedly on an open book. "Ribbit! Riiiibbbit!"

"I think that one is trying to tell us something," Pomfrey guessed, going over to examine the text. "Albus this is! It gives the spell for changing toads back into people!"

"What is it, Poppy? The sooner we can restore these poor humans, the better."

"Let's hope this works," she prayed. Pointing her wand at the toad on the book, the witch said, "Hiki licentia!"

The toad began to grow, the skin changing from green to peach until a very haggard McGonagall was standing there. "Albus, if you wouldn't mind, I think I'll take the rest of the day off…could we possibly get a substitute? I can't take anymore."

"Of course, Minerva. Go relax and have a nice cup of tea. I can have Filius come down and teach a book lesson…he has almost no classes today."

McGonagall gave a smile of thanks before walking rather quickly from the room and towards her chambers.

"Now can I have breakfast?" Hermione whined, tugging on Dumbledore's periwinkle robes.

"Yes, yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Let's head up to the Hospital Wing."

"We're coming too," Ron said firmly, stretching as he was released from his toad shaped prison. "I've got to talk to Harry and Draco…a nice long, _painful, _talk."

"And I'm sure they'll appreciate that very much, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore chuckled. "Let's go then, shall we?"

The small (well, rather large group) consisting of Dumbledore, Pomfrey, Ron, Terry, Lavender, Pansy, Neville and Blaise all made their way up to the Hospital Wing, surprised to see the doors shut. "I could have sworn I left them open," mused the nurse.

As a rule at Hogwarts, the doors to the Hospital Wing were to always remain open until nine at night when they were closed signaling visiting hours were over. For someone to have closed them was very odd…

Ron shrugged and tried to turn the doorknob, confusion etching on his features when the door failed to comply. "I think someone's locked it."

"Then try unlocking it," Pansy sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Ron glared. "I was going to do that. Alohamora!" The lock clicked, but when Ron pushed against the door again, he was met with resistance.

A muffled shout was heard and then several loud curses from inside. "They must have barricaded the door," Pansy glared. "Come on out of there, you cowards! Are you afraid of a little girl?"

"Yes!" shouted both Draco and Harry in unison.

"Please," Harry begged. "Don't let her in! Please!"

"Open the door, Harry!" Ron demanded, waving his wand dangerously (which he'd gotten back from Hermione).

"Never! You'll never get in!"

"Blast it?" asked Neville.

"Blast it," Terry said firmly. "On the count of three."

"Three," started Pansy.

"Two," Ron said grimly.

"One!" squealed Lavender, hiding behind Dumbledore.

Bright purple light shot off the ends of the teenager's wands and crashed into the door, the obtrusive object giving way and flinging open. Beds soared in the air and nightstands fell to the floor with a crash.

Hermione dashed inside and over to the one remaining bed that wasn't on its side and where two figures were huddled beneath a blanket. "I'm back!" she sang, crouching down in front and trying to pull the blanket off.

Underneath it, Harry and Draco held on for dear life, but since Hermione had the advantage of standing, she blanket eventually gave way. "Guess what?" she squealed, jumping up and down in front of them excitedly, purposefully not noticing the looks of terror on their faces. "I got to use ma-" The words died on her lips as she looked at the _empty _plate sitting beside Draco, a bit of chocolate cream stuck on the edge. "You ate my doughnut," she said, voice dangerously soft.

Harry slowly began to move away from the Slytherin, and as soon as he was two feet to the left, he jumped up and ran to hide behind Ron. "What's with you?" the redhead whispered.

"You don't want to see what she's going to do…it's scary." Looking up, he noticed that Dumbledore was there. "What happened to your beard?"

"I decided to get it trimmed," the headmaster replied evasively.

A scream broke off the small conversation and everyone watched as Hermione tackled Draco and began to pound her fists into his face, sitting on his stomach so he couldn't get up. After several minutes of pummeling Draco, Hermione rose and made her way over to the breakfast tray.

Ron, living up to the Gryffindor bravery, ran up and pulled Draco out of harm's way, feeling sympathy for the poor Slytherin.

"Draco? Are you okay? Can you hear me? Speak to me!" pleaded Pansy, shaking Draco by his shoulders.

"Stop that," Draco moaned, feebly attempting to push Pansy away.

"Try some pain reliever," suggested Pomfrey, uncorking a bottle from one of the shelves and dumping it into Draco's mouth. "That should make you feel better."

"WHERE'S MY ORANGE JUICE?" Hermione bellowed, looking up from the tray.

Dumbledore quickly conjured a cup that landed in Hermione's hands. The girl smiled and went back to picking out a new piece of food.

"Oh Merlin," panicked Ron. "Where'd Lav go?"

The entire group looked in horror as the sweet child approached Hermione, a wary yet friendly expression on her face. Harry, crouching down behind a fallen nightstand began to commentate.

"We're in a clean, sterile hospital room where the wild Hermione Granger has created a disaster. She's by the water hole, looking through the selection and a tame child, Lavender Brown, has been let out to meet with her. She's approaching cautiously…that's it, nice and easy…"

"He sounds like one of those safari people," Terry grinned. "Keep talking Harry, this is good."

Harry grinned and went back to observing. "Lavender has reached Hermione and both are simply looking at one another. Lavender takes a step and goes to pick up a glass of milk. And…oh my, Hermione lets her! We've got the first signs of positive interaction. She's heading for the food now…and she picks up the one and only chocolate sprinkle doughnut."

"Hey! That's mine!" Draco cried, rising to his feet. Terry and Ron pulled him back to the ground as both girls looked up, and not seeing anyone (they were all hiding behind beds and nightstands) went back to their breakfast.

"Are you mad?" Ron hissed. "Just leave the doughnut! It's safer that way."

So Draco pouted in silence as Harry continued. "Both are moving over to the window seat…and they're eating. Hermione viciously attacks her jelly doughnut while Lavender eats hers calmly, popping off each sprinkle and eating them first. Hermione is now attacking the orange juice, look at her go, and Lavender has still not touched her milk. Uh oh, they're moving!"

Both children moved away from the window and Hermione picked up a packet of strawberry jelly meant for the toast and Lavender grabbed grape. Together both began to draw lines on the floor, forming boxes.

"And both now seem to be playing an odd sort of jumping game," Harry commented in a whisper. "Hermione throws a piece of a bagel…and she's hopping on one foot now, nope two now, now one again to the bagel…she bends down, picks it up and hops back. The bagel is given to Lavender who does the same thing, although the bagel lands in the big square at the top. And there she goes, hopping much slower so she doesn't get jelly on her shoes. She's retrieved the bagel and is coming back. And…Ow! That's gotta hurt! Lavender is down, but she's right back up, no tears in sight. She crosses the remaining boxes and Hermione takes the bagel. She's going again! Look at her hop…you can barely see her legs! She narrowly misses a line of grape jelly but she-"

"Harry?" Draco interrupted crossly, his silver eyes narrowed in a glare at the Gryffindor.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

**Author's Notes:**

It's really strikes me as funny. I had told my twin I had no idea what was left to write andI was going to end the chapter,it wasn't even three thousand words. But for some reason, my fingers didn't obey my mouth and kept going...this chapter was almost six thousand words, not including Author's Notes or any comments. XD I really outdid myself, didn't I?

For those of you wanting to know why on Earth Hermione is acting like this, it will be explained in the next chapter or so.

I'm especially happy with the way this chapter turned out. On Thursday I was my perfectly happy and hyper self...on Friday a cold struck and I've been sneezing and blowing my nose and drinking water since then. And I'm out of cough drops! -cries- If you'd like to send some virtual ones, they're much appreciated! The ones kind BOW reviewers have sent are already making me feel better. n.n

And as many can hopefully tell, all (at least I'm hoping) of the Mione chapters are going to be packed with action and fun, no angst here! After all, Mione ismy little youkai!This is where I really set loose! I actually had to go back and retype over a page of this chappie since it for some reason turned to angst...probably cuz I'm sick and want everyone to suffer. Not very nice, but reasonable. :P

Thank you all so much for your reviews! I honestly can't believe how many this fic has gotten! I rememeber for chapter one I got in the fortys and I was so excited. And there really haven't been too many flames, so that's really good! -hugs everyone- Your support is just wonderful! Remember, reviews make me happy and so do cough drops! -hint-

And a random poll question I thought of while reading reviews. **While reading this story (at any chapter) have you ever been given odd looks by family, friends, or pets? **I get funny looks from my family, cuz I'll just burst into laughter randomly at the kitchen table or during a sad movie b/c I'm picurtuing a certain moment. :P And I've laughed while typing it before too!

For the last poll, I didn't keep a tally, but it appears that coke is the more liked choice. Although I did find several MD andFanta lovers! Yay! Those are the best:PI was just drinking Fanta Orange last night actually.

Four notes :P

**HaliJade Snape-** Yup, I always wondered about that. I've seen people spell it both ways and a few dictionaries I checked spell it my way and some your way. And I have a friend who speaks fluently in Japanese, and he informed me that's how tis spelled. :P I don't think it really matters…besides, I'm in too much of a habit to start typing it the other way. It's like Kyou or Kyo, just gotta pick one. I remember I was devastated when I found out _Ja na _meant _see you then, _not _see you later. _:P But domo arigato(u) for your concern! And you live in Japan? -clings- Can I come visit? I don't take up much room!

**Rebell**- My twin agrees with you :P Althouh I actually used the shift key. XD I hate caps for some reason...the green light on my keyboard annoys me for some strange reason.

**Kat (kittykitkat)**- MWAHAHAHA. I'd be scarier if my parents would buy it for me too! So whenever I go to East (the other high school in my area) I buy a MD code red! Mmmm. And yup, I do seem to be confusing you. XD And me for that matter. :P

**JamaicanFeline- **I was a bit confused about the part in your review about BOW. I didn't do anything except repost it after admin took it down...

And now, a huge thank you to all of you wonderful reviewers! You fantastic people are:

LishaChan, Alexis, Raisa, The Stump, kibble2617, tigerlily727, demongirl12000,blackrosebunny, LiLbLueangeL1223, BlackasNightColdasDeath7, Sunflower18, ERMonkey Burner of Cookies, scottishbabe110, sporq, Amones of Magic, Storm Black, kat6528, dizzydragon, The Black Pearl is Freedom, evildancer93, SweetAsheyPie, m1s7ress, shadowy dreamer, wockygal, CircleOfStone, CherryBlossomAngel-225, elvengoddess696, nilepharaohess, DelusionalReality, Rebell, ilovetom88, luthien telemnar, Jenzyfer, Kat, Regina the Queen of Random, charmedsisters, bleedingheart666, Black Padfoot, Steelo, taralynetteC, dracodolenz, sakura1221, Beth, rani singla, HPaggie09, HaliJade Snape, Ti, insanity-is-my-life, HPfreakout, amrawo, LaxGoalie, aicila, AquiliusAmor, Nachzes Black-Rider, HD4evva, Beach-Babi, MoosiesRule, Miranda,hermionerocks2008, Kichou, XX-Dracos-Dark-Queen-XX, peanutilover, HgBookworm, SailorCosmoMoon, MeLiO, Kazco, WannaBArtist, giddy with laughter, BIGHARRYFAN, mizzlilme,Red and Gold, xoKassieox power214063, mickey823, Feral Glass Walker, Mysteriously Intriuging Angel, Airalynn, Fox May, hottennispro88, trapped-in-a-dream, cuznhottie, fantazyfinder4vr, pink-helga, MusicIsLife28, Alenor, catwraith, Sunny June 46, Ginny-W13, paprika90, Eliot Z. Wheatherbee, cheekyangelkisses, Tataru, sweetsyphn, sycoticatalyst, PART-TIME SINNER, Poemzie the Phoenix, ice-meets-fire, Thee-Unknown-Factor, chaste-aeon, YamiClara, Fahriza, Looby Lou, Porcelain Prayer, il0000vedRac0, Arii, fille-chica143, Tiontah, Chailyn Cole Runewood, i'm begging you,JamaicanFeline, scarlet-knight13, Sloane Miette, Stinkywrix, HeyYouMadeMeThrowUpALittle, Kiwi-San, Shy-Lil-Dreamer, T.C4H.P, Bronwen, CrazyforWill, xXxThe coldness of lovExXx, Moon-Pixie00, draco's gurl, Rain-Pyr, just me,GryffindorGirl14, Erika, Coffeentoffee, Stormy Skies, Chantal J, Wizgal, Aleskris, Lyra Parry, likeucare, katherose, Kylria, emerald hope, BlueBabyAquaGirl, yeoldecrazy1, Pho3niX, LilacBlu, and ladeex13


	30. The Food That Teaches: JellO

**Disclaimer: There was once a girl who wrote fanfics and IcyPanther was her name-O! I-C-Y-P-A-N-T-H-E-R! I-C-Y-P-A-N-T-H-E-R! I-C-Y-P-A-N-T-H-E-R! And IcyPanther was her name-O! There was a girl who wrote fanfics and IcyPanther was her name-O! -clap- C-Y-P-A-N-T-H-E-R! -clap- C-Y-P-A-N-T-H-E-R! -clap- C-Y-P-A-N-T-H-E-R! And IcyPanther was her name-O! There was a girl who wrote annoying disclaimers and IcyPanther was her name-O! The reason she wrote them was because she didn't own Harry Potter. (And that just lost my tune, but you're probably sick of it now anyways- and yup, that is a word.)**

**A/N- Hai, I know it's weird for me to pop up before the chapter, but I need to let you all know something. This last chapter seemed to be the most controversial chapter. Some of you loved it, some of you thought it was a bit extreme, and one person downright hated it. I'm sorry for that, but here's the reason why it was like that.**

**As I said, I wasn't feeling well. To cheer me up, I was writing anything that made me laugh. And as a result, the last chapter was what you got. I was running a fever, now that I think about it, while I was writing most of it so I'm afraid I got a little carried away.**

**Also, many wonder how a little girl could manage to beat two sixteen-year-old boys up. Well, it's pretty simple. They're not trying to attack back or hurt her, and they're doing a pretty bad job of defending, so it is possible for her to inflict damage. Many of you asked where I based Hermione off of. Truth tell…me. :P I wasn't as bad as her (since I didn't know about magic) but I was always picking fights and beating up this boy named Mike Klein (who's a twin too.) We'd always get into fights and our twins would just watch us try to tear each other apart…normally, I won.**

**So basically, it is possible. Yes, last chapter was a bit extreme and I already gave the reason for that. This chapter, in the beginning, Hermione will be quite wild, but she'll tone down at the end after learning a 'lesson'. **

**So, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and you can look for a calmer Hermione in later chapters (although she'll still be a little youkai!)**

**Parenting Class**

**The Food that Teaches: Jell-O**

It took a while to get everything running and back in order. Pomfrey had Harry and Draco both lie down so she could give them some of her potions (much to both of their displeasure) and rewrap some of their previous injuries.

Hermione was set down in the 'time out' corner on chair and glared sullenly at the nurse as she treated Draco and Harry, only staying because of the threat that she'd be stuck there all day and they'd physically glue her to it.

As it was, she did stay there all the way until lunch as Draco rested in bed and Harry, after being released, went back to their common room to tidy it up and comfort his poor puppy, who last they saw was cowering beneath the armchair.

"I'm bored," she whined at half past noon, the lunch cart having come and gone and her interest in the food fading as soon as her stomach was full. "Can't I get off of this chair?"

"No," Draco said firmly, sitting in his bed and reading the chapter on the lesson he'd missed in Transfiguration, his homework for Charms (the class he was missing while sitting in the Hospital Wing) on the nightstand next to him.

"Can't I read a book? Please, Draco?"

The Slytherin hesitated. Sure, she had nearly killed him, injured Harry, traumatized the Transfiguration class, destroyed Dumbledore's beard, and turned several people into toads…but she was just a little girl and she was bored. And he already felt somewhat guilty about making her sit in the chair for over four hours…

'_No…be strong. Pull yourself together, Malfoy. You're a Slytherin. You won't give in.' _And then, Hermione pulled the one trick that made Draco's resolve break.

Huge, cinnamon eyes looked up at him from her chair, watery and shimmering. '_They're not as good as Butterscotch's…they're not as good as Butterscotch's...' _Draco repeated in his head, attempting to picture the really puppy dog's eyes. '_It won't work. I'm not going to be swayed by some eyes. I'm a Slytherin. I've been too soft before, but it's time I got my act together.'_

"Please? I promise I won't do anything…really. I'll take it back to the chair if you want me to. I won't rip it tear the pages."

Draco sighed. Hermione: 1 Draco: 0. "Come over here…I don't really have any books that you'd like though." The girl cautiously approached, scaring Draco more then when she'd come running and screaming at them with teeth bared. At least then he knew to expect an attack…now, he had no warning.

"Can I read with you?" she asked, pointing at the Transfiguration book. "That one looks interesting."

"I need to read this for my class," Draco pointed out. "I have a whole three feet of notes to take."

"I could read it to you and you could take notes," she suggested, already clambering up onto the bed.

"Are you feeling all right?" Draco asked, placing a hand on the girl's forehead. "Not warm," he muttered to himself. "Does your stomach hurt? Throat sore?"

"I feel fine," she answered honestly. "Why?"

"Because…well, because you're not threatening me, hurting me, screaming, or doing anything that Hagrid would classify as harmless."

"Who's Hagrid?"

"A teacher here. And the gamekeeper. But that's not the point."

"You think I'm always like that?"

Draco nodded.

"I normally am," she smiled. "But right now I'm bored and don't feel like sitting in that chair. And this book looks the most appealing but since you're using it, I can't. So we can both use it if you'd let me read it."

'_She's still smart…logical. Just like the Hermione I knew. And she loves books…now, just to work on the not so sweet side of her…'_

"All right then," Draco agreed. "You read, I write. But no lying, understand?"

"Promise," the child grinned, crawling beneath the blankets and propping herself up on the pillow next to Draco. "Okay, where did you leave off?"

"Paragraph two on the second page," the Slytherin answered, positioning his parchment on his knees and poising the quill.

"Contrary to popular belief, the way the candle is made does have an impact on the picture frame. Hand-dipped candles, made without the use of magic, often times tend to make a crooked frame with a wavy glass covering. Back in 1936 these frames were very popular in the muggle world as carnival owners used them as fun house mirrors, replacing the glass with a mirror.

Hand-dipped candles using magic to dip the wick smoothly into the boiling wax will result in a circular or oval shaped frame, often times being hung on walls instead of set on tables. The trend of hanging circular photographs was inspired by a man by the name of Clag Leid. He began to hang his family photos in the circular frames down the length of his hall and being a wealthy businessman often had visitors to his home. They, in turn, liked the idea of the circles and began to use it themselves. Today, in many of the older wizarding families, circular portraits are quite a common sight."

When Harry entered back into the Hospital Wing, he was quite shocked (and quite scared) to see Hermione reading from the giant textbook while Draco calmly wrote down bits and pieces of what she said. "Is everything all right in here?" he queried worriedly.

"I'm not really sure," Draco responded carefully. "How's Butterscotch?"

"Finally calm. He's hiding under my bed at the moment though and won't come out. But he'll get better…hopefully. I gave him some more water and some food in case he's hungry while we're away."

Draco nodded. "Can you ask Pomfrey if I can go yet? Potions starts in a few minutes and we really should try to get at least one class in."

Harry nodded and disappeared into the nurse's office while Hermione went back to reading. Seconds later, she stopped as Harry exited, a smile on his face. "You're free to go. She just says to take it easy and not do anything dangerous."

Draco shot a pointed look at Hermione, who smiled back innocently. "We can try," he sighed. "Let's get out of here then." Seconds later, his books were back in his bag and the bag on his shoulder and all three were off for the dungeons.

"It's…so…cold," chattered Hermione.

"It's the dungeons," Draco replied, perfectly comfortable with the cold after living down below the ground for five years. "Don't worry, it'll be warmer in the class room by the cauldrons."

"Cauldrons? Like the ones witches use? Can I make a brew? Do you have frog eyes? And rat tails? And pickled feet?"

Draco and Harry were both turning slightly green as the girl's list continued to grow. "And lice? And leeches? And spider legs? And-"

"And I think that's enough," Harry interrupted. "Besides, you aren't making a potion."

The girl's eyes hardened. "What do you mean I'm not making a potion?"

"It's for students only," Draco said nervously; starting to put distance between himself and the girl, hand claming onto his wand. "You're not a student here so you can't do anything."

"I will be making a potion," she said vehemently. "And you can't stop me!"

"We'll tie you up and roast you," Harry threatened. "We can stop you and we won't hesitate to use magic."

"I'd like to see you try. I have a wand too!"

Harry and Draco jumped backwards as the girl reached into the pocket of her robes and brandished a stick at them, a small leaf still attached to it. Immediately, both boys calmed down. "I'll stun you and tie you up!" she declared, waving it madly. "If you try and stop me I won't hesitate to use this!"

Harry shrugged. "Go ahead and try. But you won't be making a potion."

Hermione stood perfectly still, before putting her 'wand' back into her pocket. Taking one, careful step forward, she suddenly charged, screaming at the top of her lungs. But this time, Harry and Draco were ready.

"IMMOBILIUS!" Draco cried while Harry shouted 'Stupefy!'. The girl froze mid step, perfectly poised on one foot with her arms stretched out and a snarl on her face. Her eyes, the only thing she was capable of moving, were glaring so hard the teenagers could almost feel the heat.

"Should we levitate her?" asked Harry.

"Let's. I don't really want her coming to life if we're carrying her."

And so, Hermione was brought into the Potion's classroom, hovering several feet off the ground and eerily silent and unmoving. Harry ended the levitation spell and Hermione fell onto a chair, her death glare angrily focused on the boy-who-lived.

"Sorry we're late," Draco said nonchalantly, dropping down into his seat.

"It's quite all right," Snape said, looking warily at Hermione. "I trust you've had your hands full." Turning to look at the entire class the man barked out, "Instructions are on the board. Get started! You have until the end of the class!"

"Today just had to be the day we're actually brewing something," Harry sighed. All of last week the class had been researching the properties of the Evergreen Potion, the one they were to brew today. It was a rather complicated one, and Hermione had been put out when she realized she'd never get the chance to make it.

The potion was more of a tool for plants, not humans. Madam Pomfrey had asked Snape if his sixth years could make it…some of the plants she kept in the Hospital Wing for her own quick potion brews were starting to wilt. This potion guaranteed extra life to the plants, hence the name Evergreen.

"Do you think we should tie her up?" Draco questioned, looking at the girl, still fortunately stuck in a fixed position.

"That'd be too mean," Harry said. "Besides, you said she was behaving earlier, right?"

"That was because she was bored. Now that she's here, she isn't going to just sit down and read a book. How about a leash?"

"Not restricting enough. She would have an area to run around in…and since we'd have to keep her by us, she'd probably do something to our potion." The mischievous twinkle that entered Hermione's eye when Harry said that only confirmed the boy's suspicions.

"Continually stupefy her?"

"No, we'd probably damage her or something…side effects, you know."

"How about we lock her up in Uncle Sev's office?"

A picture of Hermione standing in the middle of the office, broken bottles and ingredients littered on the floor around her and Snape pulling out his wand and aiming it at himself, entered Harry's mind. "No, that doesn't sound like the safest option. We could just leave her untied…"

"And let her blow up the entire room? I don't think so."

"Then you come up with something!"

"I'm thinking!"

"Oooh," squealed the child in debate. "Rat tails!" Whirling around, both gulped when they realized the spells had worn off and the child was now loose. The rest of the class noticed too and stopped all movement; afraid they'd draw the girl's attention.

"Hermione," Harry said as calmly as he could, hand closing once more over his wand. "Don't. Touch. Anything."

Too late.

With a loud crash, the table that housed the potion ingredients fell to the ground, bottles breaking open and flasks spilling, as Hermione had leaned too much on the ancient wood as she reached for the tails. Unfortunately, that wasn't all that happened.

Lavender screamed as one of the eyeballs from a toad hit her foot and jumped backwards…into the shelves bordering the walls. That, of course, caused a chain reaction of every shelf to fall out, the jars toppling off and onto the students beneath them.

Poofs of brightly colored smoke started to erupt around the room as the different items mixed together, and adding the screams to the noise, the confusion, the smoke, and the terror, chaos was created.

"ENOGH!" shouted Snape from the front of the room. "NO ONE MOVE!" Silence, save the dripping of random potions and the bubbling from the solutions on the floor, washed over the room. More calmly and composed, he continued. "Is anyone hurt?"

"I don't think so," called Terry from the far right corner. "But I can't see anything."

Snape cast a wind charm and all of the smoke exited the room, students now able to see…and the damage was revealed. "Well," Harry said in forced cheerfulness, "it could have been worse."

"Haha," Draco muttered, glaring at Hermione. "How could this be worse?"

"Well…someone could have gotten hurt."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You," he growled, pointing at Hermione. "Sit down right where you are and don't move. Or we will tie you up."

Grumbling, but for once doing as she was told, Hermione sat down, the bottle of rat tails still in her hands. Under Snape's command, students began to cast cleaning and repairing charms on various parts of the room.

"Now then," said Snape once everything was cleaned up. "I suggest you get back to working on your potions, you still have about half an hour." Sighing, students began to gather ingredients once more, wishing that they had gotten the rest of the period off.

"Uncle Sev," Draco said softly, going up to his godfather. "I know it's against rules, but can we let Hermione make something? Nothing that will hurt anyone, just something to keep her entertained?" Both looked over to where Harry was holding the child off with one hand as she attempted to dump the rat tails into their cauldron.

"It'd be the best idea," Snape sighed. "Here," he said, handing Draco a large jar. "In there's jell-O powder…it was meant for the first years to make molds, but why don't you have her just make some? Boiling water isn't too dangerous, right?"

"Right," Draco smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Sev." The man waved Draco away and the Slytherin made his way back to the duo. "I have a solution," he said proudly. "Hermione, you can make a potion."

Immediately, the girl stopped trying to get to Harry's cauldron and looked curiously up at Draco. "You mean I can make a potion?"

"Uh huh. All you have to do is boil three cups water. And once it's boiling, add one cup, just one, of this powder, okay?"

"Okay," she grinned. Harry and Draco gave each other relieved looks and turned to concentrate on their own Evergreen Potion, leaving the child to making jell-O.

As Harry was chopping small pieces of cherry wood bark, he accidentally elbowed Hermione, who had jumped off the stool over her cauldron. "I'm sorry, Her-" Harry began to apologize, turning around. He never got to finish.

Once he had begun to turn, Hermione had held her food out, and Harry effectively tripped over it…falling straight into the cauldron of boiling water, which for some reason was more of twenty cups then a mere three.

With a screech, Harry leaped out of the cauldron, bright red and angry burns already covering his arms and back, his clothing completely burned off in places. "Harry!" Draco cried, dropping down to his knees and reaching out to help, though Harry recoiled with a yelp.

"Hospital Wing, Potter," Snape called from the front of the room. "Would you like Draco to escort you down?"

Staggering shakily to his feet, Harry ran over the options in his head. '_Go to Hospital Wing with Draco means Hermione has to come. That could mean more pain. Go by self, no Hermione.' _"I'll make it there, Sir," he gasped, eyes watering.

Snape nodded, a small amount of sympathy showing in his eyes as Harry tottered out the door. In the hallway, it took the boy all his will power to just keep moving, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. '_Only a few hundred feet more…come on Harry…you can do it…you…can…do…' _With a soft thump, Harry collapsed on the cold floor, not even out of the dungeons.

Back in the class, Draco was glaring at Hermione, who gave a sheepish smile. "Why was there so much water?" he demanded.

"It wasn't full enough," Hermione pouted. "Three cups barely filled it!"

"Next time, you listen to what we say, understand? You're lucky Harry was feeling well enough to go up by himself…otherwise, you would have been in really big trouble." Unfortunately, Draco had no idea Harry wasn't feeling well at all.

"Can I add more of the powder stuff? Otherwise the potion will be dilute. Thanks, Draco!" she chirped, not even waiting for an answer. Picking up the jar, she dumped the entire thing in, blue power hissing as it touched the water. Reacting quickly, Hermione picked up a gigantic wooden spoon and began to stir her potion.

Suddenly, she paused and sniffed the air. "This is jell-O…this isn't a potion. I wanted to make a potion!"

"You're too young," Draco retorted. "Be grateful you even got to make anything."

"Cast a cooling charm on it," she demanded.

"Why?"

"Do it!"

"No," Draco said calmly, stirring his own potion. "I'm not doing _anything _for you."

"I'll drop it." Startled, Draco looked up to see Hermione hanging his beloved dragon over her jell-O mixture. "If you don't do as I say, I will drop it."

Draco growled. Draco: 0 Hermione: 2 "Congelo," he muttered, flicking his wand at the cauldron. At once, the fire went out and the liquid inside turned into a smooth substance, known as jell-O.

"Now sit," Hermione commanded, maneuvering the dragon so that it was now above Draco's still bubbling cauldron. The rest of the class stopped working to see what was going to happen, after diving behind their own cauldrons for safety that is.

Draco, after eyeing his stuffed animal, sat down grumpily on the floor. "Now," Hermione smirked. "You're going to eat all of the jell-O I made."

"WHAT?" Draco shrieked. "There's enough in there for more then fifty people!"

"I know," Hermione said gleefully. "But because you attempted to trick me, you get to eat it all. So what's it going to be, Draco? The stuffed dragon getting cooked or you eating some nice, yummy jell-O?"

Draco looked around the class, hoping for a show of sympathy, but all he got were stares and nods towards the jell-O. "Fine," he snarled. "Give me the bloody jell-O."

A malicious smile on her face, Hermione picked a bowl up from the table and began to scoop jell-O into it. "That's about one of fifty servings you'll have," she said, placing a huge mass of the wiggling goop in front of the Slytherin. "Think you can do it?"

"Watch me."

About half an hour later, Draco was lying on the floor, hands clutching his stomach. "No more," he groaned. "Just give me back the dragon."

"But you've only finished twelve bowls! You still have thirty-eight left! You can't give up! Otherwise…" Picking up a pair of scissors, Hermione cut part way into the rope she'd tied around Sparkles and was holding the dragon dangling over the cauldron on Evergreen Potion. "You'll never see your stuffed dragon again."

Pansy, having a sudden idea, darted out from behind her cauldron and crouched down behind Snape's desk. Once Draco was on his next bowl, Hermione supervising, she flicked her wand at the dragon. "Accio Sparkles," she whispered, the dragon and rope flying at her. "I GOT IT DRACO!" she cried happily.

Hermione screamed in rage and broke into a charge at Pansy, who shouted and began to run away from the girl, the dragon clutched in her hands. "Stupefy!" shouted Ron, pointing his wand at Hermione. The girl froze mid-jump, Pansy crashing into a wall as she looked behind her, but pretty much unharmed.

"Are you all right?" Pansy asked, running over to Draco. "SPEAK TO ME!"

"Stomach…hurts…" moaned Draco.

"I know," Pansy comforted. "It'll feel better later…here's Sparkles!" Draco hugged the dragon to him, mumbling a thanks. "You're quite welcome."

"What do we do with all of the jell-O?" asked Ron, mouth watering.

"Can we eat it, Professor?" Terry asked

Snape thought it over. If he let them eat it, it'd mean he was being nice to Gryffindors…if he didn't, then he'd have to either eat it all himself of throw it away. And throwing it away wouldn't be allowed since it was a waste of food. "Go ahead," he sighed. "Just don't make a mess."

"JELL-O PARTY!" shouted Ron, diving for the cauldron. "WHO WANTS SOME!" Screams of 'Me' sounded, drowning out Draco's feeble 'no' while Hermione, in her stupefied state, watched from afar, glaring evilly at Pansy. The poor Slytherin girl now had a new enemy.

Elsewhere in the castle, McGonagall exited her rooms, a relaxed smile on her face. "That was the break I needed," she smiled, a letter in her hand. "No kids, no Miss Granger, and no more screaming. After I deliver this letter to Severus, I have a nice class of fourth years to teach…none of which have children."

As she continued down into the dungeons, the Transfiguration professor began to feel even more thankful that her next class would be easy as she heard shouting coming from Snape's room. "I'm so thankful for a child-free day from now till Wednesday. I'm thankful for the railings Albus installed on these stairs that keep me from falling. I'm thankful for the beautiful torches that line the walls and make seeing possible. I'm thankful for the body, adding its décor to this gloomy hall. I'm thankful for- A BODY?"

Rushing over, the teacher knelt down, turning the figure so she could see the face. "Mr. Potter?" she cried in alarm. "Can you hear me? Mr. Potter?" Taking in the sight of the dark burns, most two degree, her cinnamon eyes narrowed. "Come on, Hospital Wing, Potter." Harry made no move to stand up nor did he react like he'd heard her.

Casting a levitation charm, McGonagall sprinted up the stairs, Harry floating along behind her. "Poppy!" she called, bursting into the Hospital Wing. "Mr. Potter needs some of your burn ointment!"

The nurse puttered out of her office, jaw dropping at seeing Harry. "Put him on one of the beds," she instructed, "on his stomach, if you'll please." Harry moaned softly as he was gently lowered.

"Potter? Can you open your eyes?" asked McGonagall, hovering next to him as Pomfrey ripped off the tattered robes and began to coat his back and arms in purple gel.

"W-what?" he muttered, picking his head out of the pillow. "Professor?"

"You've been burned quite badly, Mr. Potter. Your entire back half to be exact," said Pomfrey. "You'll be staying here overnight…for now, if you'd like to heal those burns on your legs, rub this on. I'll go get you a set of clothes from the back…when I come back, I want that burn ointment all over you, understand?"

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Harry said softly, struggling to sit up, although the pain was already lessening on his back and arms.

"Good boy." As the mediwitch left to go find some clean clothes, Harry began to rub the gel onto his burns and McGonagall headed down to the dungeons, a gut feeling telling her of a certain child who might have done this…

When she got to the Potions' classroom, it was surprisingly empty, with Snape sitting behind his desk and eating a bowl of blue raspberry jell-O. "Severus? Can I come in?"

The man nodded and picked up a large spoon. "Jell-O, Minerva?"

"A small bowl," she replied, pulling up a stool over to the other teacher. "But why exactly are we eating jell-O?"

"Miss Granger made enough to feed the entire class and a bit extra…"

"About Miss Granger…did she happen to do anything to Mr. Potter?"

"He did fall into a cauldron of boiling water," Snape admitted. "But he said he could make it up to the Hospital Wing on his own, which makes me think he wasn't too badly injured. Why?"

"I found him collapsed in the dungeons a few minutes ago, Severus. He's got second degree burns all over his body…Poppy has him staying the night."

Snape blinked. "It was that serious? He seemed fine though…a little unsteady but…"

"This is Harry Potter we're talking about," McGonagall sighed.

"Point taken. Have you alerted Draco?"

"No, not yet. Where is he?"

"Most likely at dinner with the other students…I was going to head up myself after I finished my jell-O."

"Well, then I'd best go inform Mr. Malfoy of where his partner is." With a nod good bye, McGonagall went back up to the Great Hall, feeling pity (the first time ever) for Draco as she realized he'd be alone with Hermione the entire night.

As it was, the two were sitting at Gryffindor table, where Hermione was eating a large plate of spaghetti and fortunately not harming anyone, and Draco was resting his head on the table. "Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco looked up at her, his face a light shade of green. "Hmm?"

"I just wanted to inform you that Mr. Potter is in the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey wishes to keep him there overnight."

"Why?" Draco asked, more alert now. "It was just minor burns, right?"

"I'm afraid not…they were rather bad."

"Can we go see him?" asked Ginny, who had been sitting next to Draco.

"He's resting right now…although if Mr. Malfoy would like to go up and bring Mr. Potter a new set of clothes and possibly some homework to do, that would be all right." Leaning over she whispered into his ear, "Good luck with Miss Granger."

"Thank you, Professor," Draco said. "Come on, Hermione. We're going to go get some of Harry's things."

"But I'm not finished eating!"

"You're on your second helping…besides, you can have some jell-O when we get back after visiting Harry. We have quite a bit left." Snape, after realizing that they'd never finish all of the gelatin, even with Ron there, had given each student a thermos in which to dump some of the jell-O.

Waving good-bye to Ginny and Ron, Draco started for the Rainbow Room, Hermione in tow. "Stay right here," Draco ordered, pointing at the couch once they'd gotten in the room. "I'll be right back." Disappearing into Harry's room, the Slytherin was quite surprised when Butterscotch poked his head out from beneath the bed and whimpered softly. "What's wrong with you?" Draco asked, grabbing a set of clothes from Harry's trunk.

The dog nodded his head towards the common room. "Hermione, huh? Yeah, but at least you don't have to take care of her." A soft bark sounded. "Hey, no complaints! You can hide, I can't." Another bark. "Harry? Oh, he's at the Hospital Wing. He won't be back tomorrow so I'm taking care of you."

Butterscotch jumped on top of Harry's bed and curled up by the pillows, whining softly. After giving the puppy a good-bye pat and another bowl of food and water, Draco closed the door and exited the room, breathing a sigh of relief when Hermione was still where he left her.

The two arrived at the Hospital Wing a few minutes later, Draco exhausted after having to chase Hermione down one of the unused halls as she saw a ghost and wanted to go touch it. The ghost she saw just happened to be the Bloody Baron and both ended up fleeing as the very enraged ghost pursued them.

Harry was the only one in the room, sitting propped up by pillows on his bed and his glasses resting on the nightstand. His upper torso and arms were completely wrapped with bandages and some of the purple gunk could still be seen on parts of the skin the bandages didn't cover.

"You feeling okay?" Draco asked, setting the books down next to Harry's glasses and the clothes on an empty bed.

Wearily Harry cracked open his eyes, blinking before Draco handed him his glasses. "I've felt better," he replied. "Pomfrey says I'm lucky it wasn't any worse…or I could have had scarring."

A soft sniffle sounded before Draco could say anything. Both looked and saw Hermione, sitting on the edge of Harry's bed, rubbing her eyes and crying softly. "Hermione?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to hurt you so badly. I'm sorry!" she cried, launching herself at Harry. Although, this time she merely pressed her face against the bandages, small sobs shaking her shoulders. Harry winced at the impact, but then very slowly brought his arms around the child in a hug.

"It's okay, it was an accident," he murmured. "Don't cry, Hermione."

"But it wasn't an accident," she sobbed. "I tripped you…it's my fault. I didn't mean for you to get hurt that badly! Honest!"

"I forgive you," Harry said softly. "It's all right, really. I'm fine."

"Sure?"

"Positive," Harry smiled back.

Giving him a watery smile, she then launched herself at Draco, the Slytherin barely having time to catch her. "I'm sorry to you too, Draco. I really hurt you…"

"You did," Draco agreed. "But I'm fine now. You just have to learn to calm down a bit."

"I know," she sighed, her arms still wrapped tightly around Draco's arm. "Mommy and Daddy always tell me I have to learn to control my temper. But it's very short. So when I get a little mad, I do things that hurt people. And I guess…I guess that when I got here, I didn't want to listen to anyone. At home, Mommy and Daddy work a lot so I'm always at daycare. I see them for dinner and on Saturday, but when I'm at daycare I always have to listen to whatever Mrs. Casillow says. And I just didn't want to listen to anyone anymore."

"But why were you so violent?" asked Harry, taking a sip of water.

"There's this boy at daycare named Garret. And he always used to pick on me since I never wanted to play outside; I wanted to read. One day, when Mrs. Casillow wasn't looking, he dragged me out to the playground and dropped me from the top of the swirly slide…I broke my arm…I told Mrs. Casillow that I fell over the side because Garret said he'd drop me again if I told her. But as soon as my arm was better, whenever Garret came by me I'd attack him and then I'd get sent to a time out corner, but he never got the chance to really hurt me again. So that's why…"

"So you're just naturally defensive?" Draco queried, adjusting the child on his lap.

"Uh huh. I've been trying to work on it…but Mommy says that with my short temper and how I like to kick people I haven't been doing very well. But I'll try, really try. I don't want to hurt anyone more. And I want to apologize to that teacher and Professor Dumbledore!"

"Your apology is accepted, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said smiling, entering the room. "I trust you'll try to be better behaved after this?"

"Yes, Sir, I will," she declared, nodding her head enthusiastically. "And I am sorry about your beard…I ripped my grandpa's out too. Mommy wasn't very happy. Neither was Grandpa. But my doll's arm got stuck in it and I couldn't get it out…so I yanked it, and I ripped his beard off! And I got my doll back too! Grandpa said I was lucky he was thinking about shaving it."

"The shorter beard is a change…a bit different but not terrible. And I'm sure Professor McGonagall will also accept your apology. Mr. Potter, I do believe it's time for you to get some rest."

"Yes, Professor," Harry nodded. "Thanks for bringing my things, Draco."

The Slytherin nodded and rose to his feet, Hermione slipping off his lap and landing on the ground. "Feel better. We have Care of Magical Creatures after breakfast tomorrow."

Harry groaned and flopped down on the pillows as Dumbledore chuckled softly. Both were sitting there, when they heard screams from the hallway. "YOU DO NOT TOUCH THE BLOODY BARON AND LIVE! DIE, FOOLISH MORTALS!"

"What did they do this time?" Harry muttered, picking up his Charms book.

"I WILL KILL YOU! DIE!" More screams sounded but were growing fainter. Harry shrugged, it wasn't his problem.

Back in the hall, Draco and Hermione were both fleeing for their lives with a very angry ghost behind them. "YOU JUST HAD TO POKE IT, DIDN'T YOU?" Draco screamed, Hermione riding piggyback on him.

"I'M SORRY! I WANTED TO SEE IF MY HAND COULD GO THROUGH!"

"WHY'D YOU PICK THAT GHOST?"

"I DIDN'T KNOW," she wailed.

They arrived at their portrait, the Bloody Baron right behind them. "PARVULUS!" Draco screamed, dashing inside as soon as Leviculus opened.

"You run really fast," Hermione commented, sitting on Draco's back as the Slytherin crumpled to the floor. "Can we do that again?"

Draco didn't even have the strength to say no. Which was bad because Hermione took silence for a…

"Yes!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air. "Let's do that again tomorrow morning, kay?"

Draco only groaned.

**Author's Notes:**

**5/2- Yes, this chapter was uploaded Sunday, 5/1, but no alert was sent so I'm trying again. Let's hope it works!**

Wow...I went from going: _This chapter is going to be really short _to _OMK! It's sixteen pages on word! _So, I hope you're all enjoying these longer chapters, I'm not sure how much longer they'll last. :P

A huge arigato (yes, I'm spelling it this way now. -sigh- I hate being wrong, but if this is, which it appears to be, correct spelling, then I will use it! n.n) to all of those who reviewed! My compy keeps freezing and something seems to be messed up with me getting reviews and they're not all showing up in the reviews, so I'm afraid I won't be doing names, due to my compy freezing and I don't think I have everyone. So...THANK YOU EVERYONE! I hope this chapter is more to everyone's taste...she's finally calming down.

As always, reviews are very, very welcome! And I'd like to extend a gigantic thank you to those of you who gave me coughdrops. I'm feeling a lot better! And I especially liked the creativity of getting pinyatas! I loved the Hermione one:P So thank you all sooooooo much! See you next chapter!

I've got some FAQ's I'm going to answer and I also need you to answer. So please read them all and leave your answer in your review, for the questions I need your help with. Arigato!

**Do you need a beta or muse for PC?  
**_I'd absolutely love a beat, but alas, I can't have one. That is, unless you can promise me you'll be on 24/7 every Sunday and can edit really, really fast. Normally, like today, I typed almost the entire chapter on Sunday meaning that I couldn't get the chapter to the beta until last minute...a little problem. As for muses, I have two as of now. My twin sister, who I use to bounce ideas off of, and my stuffed elephant I bought at Navy Pier, Fanta (named after the drink!)_

**Are you planning on writing professionally as a career?  
**_Yes, in fact I am. I'm already working on a novel (although it's nowhere close to done) and I think writing is my calling. So English will be mymajor and my minor will probably be drawing, for graphic artists or illustrations. Although I've got several years (two, so not as many as I'd like) before I get to college so I've still got time to decide, but I think writing fiction is going to be my career._

**Do you have a chat group?  
**_Here's one of the questions for you guys to answer. As of now, no I don't. However if you'd like me to make one, I'd be happy too. I'd make it at Yahoo Groups and probably title it Icy's Corner. I think it sounds cute. :P It would focus on more FAQ's, questions you have about the fic, any of my other fics, overall discussions of HP and anime, and you could (if you wanted to) probably get to know me better. So please, say yes or no to a chat group in your review._

**What happened to Lucius?  
**_He's here...hiding. :P Seeing as this is humor I'm holding off on him until I get to the sequel, which will be Drama/Romance.  
_

**Speaking of pairings...what are they?  
**_Here's another I need your help answering. The parings with a heart between the characters names are definite. I have two that I'd like some feedback on...they have the question mark. I personally like these two pairings, but it's up to you. So let me know what you think. (These new pairings will go into effect come the sequel!)  
Draco♥Hermione  
Harry♥Ginny  
Blaise?Pansy  
Ron?Lavender_

**What's going on with Voldie?  
**_He's coming back also in the sequel. I'll probably start Occulmency lessons this story again, although we won't see any of them, we'll be with Draco and Mione or whatever characters I'm with at that moment; not Harry._

**What's youkai mean?  
**_Youkai means 'demon' in Japanese. You hear the word a lot in Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho, two awesome animes! And also Chrno Crusade. :P_


	31. Bath Time for Mione and Flobberworms!

**Disclaimer. (Sing to tune of Three Blind Mice) IcyPanther. IcyPanther. See how she writes? See how she writes? She writes and jots down chapters quite fast. Everything she writes must have booms and blasts. We really must wonder how long this will last. See how she writes? (And she doesn't own HP! It didn't fit in the song. :P)**

**Parenting Class**

**Bath Time for Mione and Flobberworms!**

Draco managed to get Hermione to sit down and read from a storybook while he attempted to finish his Charms homework, wand held tightly in hand in case of a surprise that Hermione might decide to attempt. Although after the incident in the Hospital Wing he wasn't as nervous as he used to be.

"Draco?" Hermione asked, lying on her stomach with feet kicking in the air, the story lying open on the floor in front of her.

"Hmmm?" the Slytherin murmured, jotting down the answer to one of the review questions at the end of the section. (_Explain the difference between a cheering charm and a laughter charm.)_

"How come fairy tales always have happy endings? Why aren't there ever sad endings?"

"Would you rather they be sad?" Draco queried, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I like them happy. But then I always know what's going to happen! Like in mystery stories…you always know the case is going to be solved and it'll all turn out okay. I want a surprise!"

"You're one odd kid," the Slytherin remarked. Hermione bristled, but remained lying on the rug. "Although I think I might have something that might interest you. They're some wizarding tales I used to read…they don't all end up with a happy ending."

"Can I read them, Draco? Please? Pretty please? Please with a toothbrush on top?"

"Toothbrush?" Draco echoed.

"My parents are dentists…"

Draco nodded, although he still had no clue what a dentist was. "Sure, you can read them. Wait right there and I'll go get them."

Hermione gave an enthusiastic nod of her head and propped her chin up on her hands, watching Draco expectantly. Feeling like he was under a microscope, Draco entered his room and opened his trunk, where he stored the incredibly valuable as well as loved books.

"Be careful with them," he cautioned, setting down a small stack next to Hermione. "They're very old and worth quite a bit of money."

"Then why do you have them? Shouldn't they be in a museum?"

"These books have been in my family for years…and they're mine now. And I don't really want to part with them; I have plenty of money already and I like these books."

"Are you rich?" The girl's eyes grew to the size of galleons as she looked at Draco.

"You could say that," he said slowly.

"Could you buy a horse?"

"If I wanted one…yes."

"Can you buy a house?"

"Uh huh…"

"Can you buy a town?"

"Probably."

"The world?"

"I don't think so…"

"If you could would you make me queen?"

"Uhhh…"

"Is that a no?"

"Maybe?"

Hermione looked at him and he looked at her, before she burst into peals of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Draco demanded.

The child just shook her head; now laughing so hard that no sound could be heard.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm…great," Hermione gasped, laughter gradually fading away. "It's just…oh…never mind…but you answered my question with a question. Just like my mom!"

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Draco grumbled. "I don't want to be your mom."

"Well, it's not a bad thing," Hermione argued. "Besides…I miss Mommy and Daddy."

Draco smiled at her. "It's all right. You can seem them again in two weeks."

Hermione suddenly jumped up in surprise, the book in her hands tumbling to the floor. "I'm missing school! I'll fall behind! I have to go home!"

"Don't worry," Draco assured. "I'm sure you'll catch right back up. Why don't you-" he broke off as his eyes caught sight of the clock across the room.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, gently picking up each book and patting its cover.

"It's nine! You should have been in bed already!"

"I know," she grinned devilishly. "Mommy makes me go to bed at seven thirty."

"Then why didn't you say something?"

"I don't want to go to bed that early!"

"Well, you're going to bed now. After you take a bath though…"

"I don't want a bath," Hermione pouted, sticking out her lower lip.

"You need one. You smell like jell-O."

"What's wrong with that?"

"It doesn't show cleanliness. And I'm not going to have you walking around dirty while I'm watching you."

"BUT I DON'T WANNA TAKE A BATH!" Hermione wailed, dropping the books she'd gathered and latching onto the table leg. "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"

"You're taking a bath," Draco said, fighting to remain calm. "And I'll either drag you into the bathroom or you'll go willingly."

Well, Hermione took option one. The Slytherin, after muttering a quick prayer for his safety, reached over and grabbed Hermione by her feet and began to pull, hoping she'd let go of her death grip on the table. It was reminding him strangely of a scene a few weeks prior where Hermione had gripped onto a pillar to stop herself from being carted off to Divination. Unfortunately, Draco didn't see feigning hurt would stop her.

"Let go of the bloody table," he growled, digging his heels into the carpet and pulling as hard as he could.

"NEVER! I'LL NEVER LET GO!"

"LET GO OF THE TABLE!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST!"

"THEN I'LL HAVE TO KILL YOU!"

"YOU CAN'T! THEN YOU'LL BE A MURDURER!"

"WHO CARES? AT LEAST YOU'LL GET A BATH!"

By now, Draco had lost his temper.

"BUT I DON'T WANT A BATH! I LIKE BEING DIRTY!"

"NOT UNDER MY WATCH! YOU'RE GETTING A BATH!"

"DIE!" The small child suddenly let go of the table and Draco flew backwards, the sudden release in tension making him lose his balance. Before the blond could stumble to his feet, Hermione was sprinting across the common room to the portrait. "OPEN!" she screamed when the door refused to allow her through.

"YOU'RE CAUGHT!" Draco cried in glee. "IT WON'T OPEN FOR YOU!"

"LET ME OUT! OPEN UP! OPEN SESAME! BOOM! PLEASE OPEN!"

"IT WON'T! THE PORTRAIT KNOWS BETTER! RIGHT LEVICULUS?"

"I'd rather not take part in this conversation," the jester chuckled nervously from outside. "But Draco is right, Hermione…I can't open to you."

It was Draco's turn to laugh evilly. "The portrait agrees with me," he laughed.

"I never said that," Leviculus said. "I was merely saying that my rules were not to let Hermione out; I never said anything about agreeing with you. It's you who are agreeing with me."

"Still," Draco snarled, "I've got her now."

"NO YOU DON'T! I'LL ESCAPE!" Darting away, Hermione swerved around Draco and ran to the large window. Throwing it open, she glanced over her shoulder at Draco, who was right behind her, and jumped.

"I thought she was scared of heights," Draco muttered, as Hermione's scream echoed to the ground below. Then, what the girl had just done hit him. "I'M COMING, HERMIONE!" Looking wildly around the room, Draco pulled out his wand and yelled, "ACCIO NIMBUS 2001!"

The black broom hurtled out of his room and jumped into his hand, as Draco leapt out the window and flew in a downward plunge, thankful their window was several stories up. Although, if it hadn't been so high then he wouldn't have been so worried about Hermione becoming a pancake.

Not even twelve feet before the ground impacted Hermione, Draco swung beneath her and caught the girl, one arm wrapped securely around her waist as he flew back up to their room, Hermione sobbing hysterically and clinging to his robes.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Draco exploded as soon as they'd reached the tower and Hermione was on the floor.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Please don't be mad…"

"DON'T BE MAD? I'M FURIOUS! YOU ALMOST KILLED YOURSELF!" Draco raged. "IF YOU'D DIED, DO YOU KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED? YOUR WHOLE LIFE WOULD BE RUINED!"

"I didn't…I mean…I…I…I didn't realize…"

"Didn't realize what?" Draco asked icily. "That that was over a five hundred foot drop? That you jumped out a window? WHAT DIDN'T YOU REALIZE?"

"My…my room…is on…the ground floor," she sobbed, rocking back and fourth with her knees drawn up to her chest. "I…like to…climb…out…when Mommy…wants me…to take a…bath…I'm sorry Draco! Please, forgive me! I'm sorry!"

The fury that had been racing through Draco started to smolder until it died entirely, his silver eyes sadly watching Hermione. "I'm sorry too," he apologized, kneeling down next to her. "I…have trouble…sometimes…"

"Trouble? With what?" she asked timidly, allowing Draco to give her a gentle hug before clambering into his lap.

"Showing people I care…I can't express it…I'm not used to it. So I get angry."

"Why can't you show people you care? All you need to do is give them a hug!" She emphasized this point by turning around and hugging the Slytherin.

"I wasn't…brought up…oh, never mind. You wouldn't understand this kind of thing."

"Yes, I would," Hermione said stubbornly.

Draco smirked. "I know you'd try, but you're too young. And speaking of which, you should have been in bed, by your mother's watch, almost two hours ago. So, into the bath you get."

"All right," Hermione sighed. She knew much better then to argue this time. "But you stay out here, okay?"

Draco held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, but make sure you wash your hair really well."

Sticking her tongue out at him, Hermione went into her room and grabbed a small bathrobe and then went back to the bathroom. Draco settled down on the couch with his Charms book again and his parchment, Crookshanks coming out from beneath the couch and hopping onto the cushion next to him and Butterscotch joining both a second later.

For some reason, both the cat and dog managed to get along with each other, and Draco had to suspect it was something to do with the fact that Butterscotch had offered Crookshanks one of his dog treats when they were training the puppy.

A few minutes later, the soft, crackling of the fire was overpowered with Hermione's shouts. "DRACO?"

"Yes?" he called back, sticking a bookmark between the pages.

"Can you help me wash my hair? It's too thick!"

"I thought you didn't want me in there…"

"Please? It feels yucky…and there's a knot!"

"Coming…" Placing the book into his bag, Draco made his way into the bathroom, the mirrors completely steamed up and the vapor wafting around the room. "Why did you make the water so hot?" he asked, carefully making his way over to the bathtub, where Hermione was sitting with her back to him.

"I like it hot," she smiled. "The shampoo is right there," she said, pointing to a bright pink bottle on the ledge. "And the conditioner is in the purple bottle."

"Close your eyes," Draco warned, squirting the fruity smelling shampoo into his hand and lathering it into the girl's hair. "You don't want it to sting."

Obediently, Hermione did so and sat quite calmly, occasionally wincing as Draco's fingers pulled apart a knot or dug too deep into her scalp. "All done," Draco said cheerfully, dumping one last bucket of water over the girl's head.

"Thanks you," Hermione said quietly.

"No problem." Getting stiffly to his legs, Draco lumbered out of the bathroom and into his room to change into his pajamas.

Just as he was pulling a tee shirt on over his head (normally, he wouldn't but with Hermione here…) soft knocking sounded on his door. "Yes?" he asked, opening it to see Hermione standing in front of him, a pink shirt on her with a panda bear and matching pants.

"Can you sing me a bed time song? Please? It helps me fall asleep faster."

Draco hesitated. "I don't sing very well," he admitted. "I'd probably give you nightmares."

"Please? With a-"

"-toothbrush on top? All right, you win," Draco sighed. "But if you do have nightmares it's not my fault."

"Okay!" she bubbled.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Draco asked as Hermione skipped towards her room.

"Yup. And I flossed. Is it okay if I put your books in my room? I promise I'll be really careful."

"As long as you're careful," Draco replied, looking fondly at his books sitting on the girl's desk. "And did you comb your hair?"

Hermione looked guiltily at her feet. "No…"

"Why not?"

"It hurts! I only like it when Mommy does it!"

"If I promise to be gentle will you let me?" The Slytherin couldn't even imagine the fact of not getting rid of the knots in his own hair and was not going to let Hermione either.

"Promise?"

"Promise," Draco smiled, picking up a comb from the girl's nightstand. "Now sit down so I can do this."

Hermione hopped into her bed and sat in the middle of it, Draco right behind her, armed with the comb. "That hurts," she whimpered a few seconds later.

"Sorry," Draco apologized. "I'm trying not to hurt you, but your hair's so thick."

Patiently, Hermione waited until Draco finally pronounced her done, the deep brown hair now lying smooth down her back. "Now will you sing me a song? It's already ten…"

Draco yelped. "No song! Too late!"

"Please? With a toothbrush on top? You did say you would…"

"I did," Draco admitted. "Okay, I'll sing you a wizarding one, okay? I don't know any muggle ones like Harry."

"That's fine," Hermione grinned, snuggling beneath the covers and clutching a teddy bear to her.

"Remember, if you have nightmares, not my fault."

"Mmmm."

Taking a deep breath, Draco began.

"Across moonlit pastures and over the sea,

A unicorn grazes, on grass growing green.

Silver coat gleaming, bright as day,

She frolics about, ready to play.

But with the whisper of the wind,

The young foal settles down.

To listen to her mother sing,

Her voice as soft as a dove's wing.

A haunting lullaby fills the air,

Filled with battles long fought and deeds dared.

Of tragedies and miracles, that happened long ago,

The great happiness or the stories of woe.

And the little unicorn listened enchanted,

Ears pricked forward to catch every word.

But as the last part of the tune died away,

The foal closed her eyes, preparing to welcome the coming day."

"That…was beautiful," Hermione yawned, chocolate eyes warm. "Thank you, Draco. I'll have good dreams now…"

"I'm glad," Draco whispered. "Night, Mione." He got no response, the girl already sound asleep.

Draco headed towards his own room and climbed beneath the covers, nearly screaming when he found Butterscotch on his pillows and Crookshanks curled up next to the puppy. But sleep came shortly and Draco slept.

Although not for long, as his nightmare grew until he was screaming bloody murder in his sleep, Hermione running in with her eyes wide in panic, just as Draco woke up.

"Are…are you all right?" she whispered, watching as Draco put his face in his hands.

"No, I'm not," he frantically said, arms waving in the air. "The Bloody Baron caught us! And he was going to feed us to a gigantic monster made of jell-O! Instead of eating the jell-O, it was going to eat us!"

Hermione giggled. "It was a nightmare. I'm sorry I made you eat so much jell-O…that's probably what caused that."

"You think?"

The girl nodded and laughed again, before jumping up and climbing into Draco's bed. "What are you doing?" Draco asked as she snuggled beneath the covers next to him.

"Whenever I have a nightmare I always stay with Mommy and Daddy. But I don't think both of us will fit in my bed, so I'll join you!"

"Okay…" Draco said, moving over slightly, thankful Butterscotch had gone back to Harry's room with Crookshanks so he could have a pillow. "Night then, Hermione."

"Good night, Draco."

Minutes later, both were sound asleep, no more nightmares of jell-O monsters, just the image of the two unicorns underneath the sky.

LINE! LINE!

_THUMP!_

Draco groaned and looked up at his bed from the floor, wracking his brain to try and figure out how he managed to fall out of a queen sized bed. Reaching up, he felt for the comforter, but came away with nothing. Now curious, he stood up and felt a smile come to his face as well as a vein to his forehead.

Hermione was completely wrapped up in his blanket, and was directly in the middle of the bed, though it appeared she'd just rolled away after shoving the Slytherin out. "You're lucky it's about time for us to be up," Draco growled softly.

Hermione mumbled something beneath her breath. "What?"

Sleepily, she cracked open an eye. "G' morning, Draco."

"What'd you just say?"

"Why are you on the floor?" she asked, ignoring Draco's question and looking at the Slytherin.

"You shoved me out!"

"So that's why I was thinking about monkeys," Hermione grinned.

"How do _I _resemble a monkey?" Draco queried, clearly offended. He looked much better of a monkey, he was certain of it.

"Haven't you ever heard of the monkeys jumping on the bed?" Draco shook his head. "Here, I'll show you. Climb back up on the bed and stand up."

Draco did so; thankful the ceiling was so high. "Now what?"

"We jump and I'll recite the rhyme. Although we're supposed to have five monkeys…oh well. Ready? Go!"

Feeling stupid, Draco began to jump lightly on the bed, his feet never leaving the comforter while Hermione tried to go as high as she could go. "FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED! ONE FELL OFF AND BUMPED HIS HEAD! That's where one of us is supposed to fall off but we'll keep going until we get to two, okay?" Draco nodded. "SO MOMMA CALLED THE DOCTOR AND THE DOCTOR SAID: NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED! You sing the next verse Draco. It's just four…and jump higher!"

Extremely glad Harry wasn't there, Draco began. "FOUR LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED! ONE FELL OFF AND BUMPED HIS HEAD! SO MOMMA CALLED THE DOCOTOR AND THE DOCTOR SAID: NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!"

Hermione took over, both now jumping extremely high; Draco's head nearly brushing the ceiling. "THREE LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED! ONE FELL OFF AND BUMPED HIS HEAD! SO MOMMA CALLED THE DOCTOR AND THE DOCTOR SAID: NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!"

"TWO LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED! ONE FELL-HEY!" Draco shouted as Hermione pushed him off, the boy's unsteady momentum carrying him right over the edge.

"Keep singing!" she shouted back, still hopping madly around.

Grumbling, Draco did. "OFF AND BUMPED HIS POOR ACHING HEAD! HERMIONE IS EVIL AND WOULDN'T CALL THE DOCTOR, SO DRACO SAYS: NO MORE HERMIONE'S JUMPING ON _MY _BED!"

"THAT'S NOT HOW IT GOES!" Hermione shouted back.

"I CHANGED IT! NOW SING YOUR VERSE!"

"FINE! ONE LITTLE MONKEY JUMPING ON THE BED. ONE FELL OFF AND BUMPED HER HEAD!" Hermione flipped and landed on top of Draco. "SO MOMMA CALLED THE DOCTOR AND THE DOCTOR SAID: NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!"

"Is that how it ends?" came Draco's muffled question, his face squashed into the carpeting.

"Nope, let me finish," she exclaimed, climbing off. "NO LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED! NONE FELL OFF AND BUMPED HIS (OR HER) HEAD. SO MOMMA CALLED THE DOCTOR AND THE DOCTOR SAID: PUT THOSE MONKEYS BACK IN BED! Come on Draco! Back we go!"

"Noooo," the Slytherin moaned. "No more."

"Bravo! That was great! And I got the entire thing on tape with pictures!"

Suddenly, Draco wasn't so tired and content to lie on the ground. "GIVE ME THAT CAMERA, GINNY WEASLEY!"

The redhead laughed and darted nimbly out of Draco's reach. "This is blackmail for life," she crowed, sticking her camera (which was actually Harry's) into her robe pocket.

"Who are you?" asked Hermione. She'd seen the girl briefly the previous night at dinner, but had never gotten the chance to speak to her.

"I'm Ginny, Ron's younger sister and Harry's girlfriend."

"She's also dead," Draco growled, lunging again for the Gryffindor.

"Why are you so upset?" Ginny asked, once more dancing out of the way. "It's cute. Besides, it'll give me a smile for a long time."

Draco snorted, and sat down on his bed, glaring at the redhead. "So, exactly what are you doing here?"

"I went up and saw Harry this morning…he informed me that you forgot his first-aid kit and I was to bring it down."

"First aid kit?"

"For Care of Magical Creatures. You never know…speaking of which, shouldn't you two be at breakfast? Classes start in fifteen minutes."

Draco jumped to his feet, a look of wild panic in his eyes. "FIFTEEN MINUTES! YOU HAVE TO BE JOKING!"

"Look at your clock," Ginny said calmly. Draco did so, and burst into a new round of hysterics.

"Okay, Ginny, canyouwatchHermioneformewhileItakeashower? Makesureshegetsdressed!Thanks!"

Not even giving Ginny a chance to reply, Draco tore from the room for the bathroom, a clean set of robes in hand. "What'd he say?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shrugged. "No idea."

In record time, Draco was out of the shower and hauling Hermione down to the Great Hall, Ginny trailing behind as the packhorse with Draco's bag, seeing as the Slytherin was carrying Hermione. "I can walk!" Hermione protested, stomach churning as she looked at the ground below. "Put me down!"

"Eat," Draco commanded, setting the child down on the Slytherin bench.

"But my stomach hurts," she moaned.

"Eat the food," he growled, reaching over and pouring her a glass of orange juice.

Glaring, Hermione obeyed and peeled a banana, while Draco helped himself to a muffin and Ginny (arriving a minute later) grabbed a plate of toast. "Done?" Draco asked, glancing at the clock. They had three minutes to get all the way outside, down the hill, and to Hagrid's cabin.

"Yup," Hermione smiled, stuffing a last piece of toast she'd stolen from Ginny (who had left for her class a few minutes earlier) into her mouth.

"Hop onto my back and hold on tight, okay?" Draco asked, grabbing his book bag and draping it over his neck.

Eagerly, Hermione did so, so tight she nearly cut off Draco's air supply. "Ready! Go pony, go!"

The Slytherin broke into a jog, which quickly turned into a sprint, Hermione's shouts of 'faster pony!' actually working. Students stared at the odd spectacle, but decided to ignore asking if they were all right since they were also running late for their own classes.

"We…made…it," Draco panted falling onto the grass next to Pansy, Hermione letting out a squeal as she went down.

"There you are!" Harry said cheerfully. "What took you so long?"

"Shut…up…Harry."

"We were busy playing Monkeys Jumping on the Bed," Hermione clarified, climbing off of Draco and going over to Blaise, who backed away and hid behind Neville. "What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked, peering over Neville's shoulder at the tiny Slytherin, but Blaise ducked out of site.

"Nothing's wrong," said Pansy. "Remember what we learned earlier in the year?" she asked, turning to Harry. "Bout Blaise? Well, because of that he doesn't talk much…he hasn't spoken more then four words in a sentence and he's very shy."

"I'm Hermione," the girl said proudly, standing on Neville and hopping over his shoulder to stand next to Blaise. "Don't worry, I just want to talk to you."

"Hi, Hermione!" a little girl chirped, leaving Ron and Terry. "Hi, Blaise!"

Blaise merely looked at her, while Hermione gave her own hearty hello. "Do you know what we're doing today?" Hermione asked. "I hope it's dangerous!"

"Of course she'd hope that," Harry chuckled.

"I hope it isn't," Lavender shuddered. "I don't want to be eaten!"

"And it isn't dangerous," Hagrid beamed, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "Yeh all are goin' to be doin' a make up lesson."

"Make up?" Harry echoed. "Did we fail something?"

"Yeh all failed the Flobberworm unit," the half-giant announced. "So, yeh get to do it again."

Moans of protest rose, though Hagrid took no notice. "All yeh have ter do is feed 'em. And don' kill 'em. The Flobberworms are righ' here," he said, pointing at a large trough of dirt. "An' lettuce is next to 'em. Get started!"

"This is so boring," Draco groaned.

"At least it isn't dangerous," Harry pointed out. "I'll go get the worm, you wait here with Mione."

Hermione was actually sitting next to Lavender and playing a handclapping game, while Blaise watched, curiosity in his eyes though he still hung back.

A little while later, Draco and Harry were both lying on their stomachs next to the Flobberworm, stuffing lettuce down the poor thing's throat. Blaise, miraculously, had asked in three words (Can I play?) if he could join them. So, Hermione had ducked out and Lavender was handclapping with the Slytherin.

Hermione sighed. She was bored. There was absolutely nothing to do. Wandering around the students, she peered into the trough, where several Flobberworms were covered in dirt. "You need a bath," she said, wrinkling her nose.

Taking off her robe (now wearing a pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved purple shirt) Hermione placed each Flobberworm on the black material and wrapped it up. "Where am I going to find water?" she mused, grabbing the corners and tying them into a knot.

Her eyes spotted the lake; only a few minutes walk away. Making sure no one was watching, Hermione took off for the glistening water, worms clutched safely to her. "Here you go," she smiled, dropping each worm into the water. "You'll be clean in no time!"

After scrubbing each one, Hermione put them back on her cloak. "You need to dry," she concluded. "I can't put you back in that trough all wet; you'll get dirty again!" Noticing a large boulder quite close to Hagrid's house, the girl took off and clambered up on it, heat seeping into her fingers.

"This is perfect. Now, I'll put you all right here, and come back in a few minutes to get you, kay?" After making certain each worm was completely on the hot rock, Hermione made her was back to Lavender and Blaise.

Unfortunately, she lost track of time as she doodled pictures in the dirt with a stick. "You're pretty good, Blaise," Lavender remarked, looking at the dog Blaise had drawn. "My horse is all messed up."

"I love my rainbow," Hermione beamed. "Although I wish I could color it…you can't really tell it's a rainbow."

Hagrid's shout drowned out whatever Lavender had been about to say. "WHERE'D THE FLOBBERWORMS GO?"

"Oops!" Hermione laughed. "I'll go get them!"

Jumping to her feet, she raced over to the rock, face growing puzzled as the once green creatures were now a toasty looking brown. "I guess you got sunburned," she observed. "Oh well, time for you to go back into the dirt."

Reaching out to grab one, Hermione was surprised when the worm fell apart as soon as she touched it. "That can't be good," she muttered, noticing the same result with each of them. "Draco? Harry? Can you come here?"

The Gryffindor of the pair rose and made his way over to the rock. "What did you do?" he gasped, looking at the remains of the Flobberworms.

"They got too much sun! Can you put them back together?"

"They're dead, Hermione."

"They…died?" Tears came to the bright brown eyes. "I'm…a murderer?"

"No, you're not a murderer!" Harry said, kneeling down next to her. "It was an accident…don't worry, it's all right."

"But I killed them," she sniffled. "They're dead."

"Hagrid will understand. Besides, they're rather boring. No one's going to miss them."

Wrong thing to say, Harry.

"BUT I'LL MISS THEM!" she wailed. "I WANT THEM BACK!"

Lavender, although she didn't know what Hermione was crying about took it up. "I MISS THEM TOO!"

"I KILLED THEM! I SHOULD DIE TOO!"

"KILLED WHAT?" Hagrid bellowed.

"It was an accident," Harry said quickly. "Hermione killed the Flobberworms…she was trying to give them a bath."

"Then we'll have a funeral," Hagrid said. "'Arry, dig a hole for their remains, I'll go get a jar. Someone else, carve a gravestone."

Hermione perked up. "Yay! A funeral! Do we get cookies?"

"Funerals are sad events," said Draco, pulling out his wand and starting to burn a message into a piece of stone. "You shouldn't cheer."

"But at my Great Grandma Granger's funeral, I never knew her, we had cookies and cake afterward."

"Not here," Draco said firmly. "You just ate breakfast anyways."

"Everyone gather 'round," Hagrid said tearfully, standing by the hole Harry had dug, a pot with the dead Flobberworm pieces in his hands. "It's time to say a short prayer for the Flobberworms; Henry, Squirmy, Daisy, Wriggler, Dirty, and Sam."

"I'll miss you!" Hermione cried, looking up at the jar. "And I'm sorry!"

"Your death was a great loss to us all," Draco said, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Have fun in the afterlife!" said Lavender. "Say hi to my grandpa for me!"

Hagrid lowered the pot into the hole and Harry shoveled the dirt back over it. Draco handed Hagrid the gravestone, which read:

_Rest in peace, Flobberworms._

_Born?_

_Died: October 4th._

After that, Hagrid did produce his famous treacle tart and brownies, though Harry and Ron didn't touch them, knowing Hagrid's experience with cooking.

They had a rather quiet morning after that, since Hermione's teeth were cemented together. But come afternoon, it would get very loud. That's a promise.

**Author's Notes:**

Well, I've gotta type this fast; heading out in a minute. First off, I was on a major case of writer's block this entire week, yet I forced myself to write this. So it might not be as good as I wanted it to be. I hate WB…

Second, as for the poll results, it appears it will be Blaise/Pansy and Ron/Lav. Several of you wanted inter house pairings, but I'm actually trying to keep the pairings related to the groups they were in. Save Harry, who went off with Ginny.

Chat group: By demand, I now have one. Link is on my profile; please do join! You might even get sneak peeks of chapters is I get them typed up soon enough. :P There's also FAQ's (still getting them up) , surveys, polls, and several other members that all love HP that you can talk too!

A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed! Like always, they're quite welcome! And a Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms! Hope you all get lots of flowers and have a great day 'off'.

And a p.s. My elephante is in the BC again...spare a vote?

Until next Sunday, bye!


	32. Mirrors and Magnets…Not Such a Good Idea

**Disclaimer: A nice, normal disclaimer is what I have to say. I don't own Harry Potter in any way. Crying nor screaming will give it to me. It belongs to Rowling, can't you see? I now cease my rhyming ways, as it is getting annoying and Seussical must pay. So enjoy the chapter and laugh in good cheer, the disclaimer will be waiting for you next chapter right here.**

**Parenting Class**

**Mirrors and Magnets…Not Such a Good Idea**

"I can't believe we have to go to Charms again!" Draco grumbled, gray eyes stormy. "Who's the bloody idiot who came up with this new scheduling?"

The new scheduling consisted of the main classes; DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions, to be held three times a week. Prior, it had been just once or twice, depending on your schedule. But with the threat of Voldemort returning, the need for classes that would help in battle were being reinforced and other classes, like Herbology and Astronomy were being pushed slightly aside. But they were still a part of the curriculum, and played an important role in the student's grades.

"The bloody idiots actually," Harry smirked, "would be Dumbledore and all the heads, including Snape." The black haired boy simply watched as Draco's mouth moved although no words came out. "And yes, you just insulted your uncle."

"That man's his uncle?" squeaked Hermione. "He's scary!" About an hour ago, Hermione had finally regained the ability of sound and had been chattering for the entire time. Only recently, in the last few minutes, had she finally quieted down, although now she was back again.

"Yes, he is. And my godfather," Draco growled. "And he _isn't _scary! And I didn't insult him!"

"You did."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"You sound like two year olds," Hermione grumbled.

"Then you must only be one," Draco retorted. "With the way you've been."

"Mommy says I'm _very _grown up," Hermione retorted.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I find that hard to believe."

The child stamped her foot and glowered at Draco, before diving at him with hands extended out.

"You proved my point," Draco cried happily, his palm pressed against Hermione's forehead, preventing her from getting any closer to him.

"We're going to be late to class," Harry said calmly.

"Again?" Draco screeched. "Why are we always running late?"

"Me," Hermione answered innocently.

"That's right," Draco growled. "You always make us run late."

"It's what I do," Hermione grinned.

"You little-"

Harry grabbed the Slytherin by the back of his robes before he could grab Hermione. "We can't hurt her, you know," he chided.

"But I'd like to," Draco snarled, straining to reach the girl, who had backed up just out of his reach and was sticking her tongue out. With an extra lunge, he broke free of Harry's grasp and charged.

Hermione screamed and tore off down the hall…opposite, the way to Charms, Draco hot on her heels.

Harry sighed and watched them round the corner. He could either follow them and prevent any injury that he knew they'd give each other. Or, he could go to Charms, be only a few minutes late, and get a start on the lesson.

Whistling, Harry took the second option and set off down the hall, ignoring the screams echoing farther down the corridor.

He arrived just as the bell rang, having taken several shortcuts to the room. "Where are Hermione and Draco?" Pansy asked, turning in her seat to look at Harry.

"They'll be here later," he said evasively. And with that, Harry turned to listen to Flitwick, who was lecturing them on Binding charms.

Meanwhile…

"GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"YOU'RE AS SLOW AS A TURTLE!" Hermione taunted. "CAN'T YOU GO ANY FASTER?"

"WATCH ME!"

Hermione yelped as the blond rapidly closed the distance between them. "RUN, RUN, FAST AS YOU CAN! YOU CAN'T CATCH ME, I'M THE GINGERBREAD MAN!" Hermione gleefully shouted as she sprinted out ahead of Draco.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU'RE NOT MADE OF GINGERBREAD AND YOU'RE A _GIRL!"_

"IT'S A NURSERY RHYME, STUPID!"

"I'M NOT STUPID, YOU BRAT!"

"BUT I'M SMARTER!" Realizing that once again Draco was catching up, Hermione skidded to a halt and dropped onto her stomach, Draco tripping over her body and flying through the air. Hopping to her feet, the girl took off down the way they'd just come.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" Draco yelled, unsteadily rising and giving chase once more.

"IT'S CALLED STRATEGY!" Hermione shouted back.

But as the girl was running, she suddenly stopped, jaw dropping and eyes growing wide.

"GOTCHA!" Draco cried triumphantly, his arms encircling Hermione to prevent her from moving.

"D…Draco," she stuttered, pointing a shaking hand at something in the hall that was rapidly coming closer.

"You're not as fast as you thought you were," Draco cackled.

"Draco…"

"And even though I don't know who that gingerbread man is, you're a lot slower then him!"

"DRACO!" Hermione shrieked, cowering against him.

"What?" Draco asked irritably. "You just cut off my bragging about my victory."

"He's…he's back…"

"Who's back?"

"I'm back," the ghost bellowed, silvery blood glowing in the torchlight, eyes narrowed. "And both of you must now pay for touching the Bloody Baron…with your lives."

"Killing students is illegal," Draco said, taking several steps back as the ghost advanced.

"Yes…but that little girl is not a student, is she?" the Baron laughed.

"I'm too young to die (1)!" Hermione wailed as Draco scooped her into his arms and tore off down the corridor, the Bloody Baron right behind them.

"You just had to get us into this mess, didn't you?" Draco grumbled, looking fearfully back at the ghost.

"Me? I did this? You got us into this by chasing me in the first place!"

"You were asking to be chased!"

"Was not! You just get mad too easily!"

"You know what?" Draco mused, suddenly stopping. "If you're going to be like that, I'll just leave you here for the Bloody Baron. He'd love you for a small snack."

"DON'T LEAVE ME!" Hermione screamed, refusing to remove her arms from around Draco's neck. "I'LL BE QUIET! JUST DON'T LET ME GET EATEN!"

Grinning, Draco took off again, this time with a much subdued Hermione. When they burst into Charms, everyone glanced up, Draco smiling as he dropped Hermione into an empty chair. "Sorry I'm late, Professor."

"Ten points off of Slytherin for tardiness, Mr. Malfoy," Flitwick said. Normally, the cheerful Charms teacher hated to take points off, but over fifteen minutes late? That was quite inexcusable…and especially the fact that the Slytherin didn't seem the least bit upset.

"I should have left you," Draco growled softly, settling himself in a chair next to the cause of his point deduction.

"You would feel guilty if I died," Hermione grinned. "You would have brought me with anyway."

"Wanna bet?"

"Not really…you don't sound very happy."

"Ah hem," Flitwick coughed. "If I could once more turn your attention to the front of the room…"

"So, what are we learning?" Draco asked, leaning over towards Harry so the tiny teacher wouldn't hear him.

"Binding charms," Harry whispered. "He's been showing us how they work by demonstrating with magnets."

"What's a magnet?"

"It's a muggle object…it attracts metal. Although in the case of a Binding Charm, it will hold one person to the other; not metal."

"Sounds boring…and why would anyone want to bind someone to them?"

"The spell can also be used for set distances. Like house elves can bind a person to them so they have to stay with. The charm's especially useful for little kids…if you get my drift."

Draco gave a predatory glance at Hermione. "I get it."

Hermione yelped and jumped out of her seat, straight for Flitwick so he could protect her from Draco. Unfortunately, the professor was casting a spell at that moment and Hermione crashed into him before he could complete it.

"What's the charm?" Draco asked, pulling out his wand and aiming it at Hermione, who was clutching onto the magnet to use as a shield from the somewhat insane Draco.

"Umm…Necto pariter, but then you have to add the distance…"

Too bad Draco didn't hear the last part. "NECTO PARITER!" he shouted, bright yellow light shooting off the tip of his wand.

Hermione screamed and held up her magnet, the light bouncing off of it and straight back at Draco. Acting quickly, Draco grabbed a mirror to shoot the beam back at Hermione.

Pretty soon, the two were exchanging the light between them, determination to hit the other set on their features. "It's going to explode!" cried Neville, ducking beneath his desk as the energy ball got bigger and bigger.

And true to Neville's prediction, the spell exploded in the air, everyone covering his or her eyes from the harsh glow. When the light dimmed down enough so no one would be blinded, students looked at the middle of the room, where both Hermione and Draco were sitting, right next to each other.

Draco, shaking his head to clear away the bright spots, stood up, surprised when he felt extra weight on his left side. "What happened?" Hermione asked woozily.

"Why are you attached to me?" Draco yelped. Indeed, Hermione was stuck to Draco like glue. Her right leg and his left were stuck to each other and her arm was plastered across his stomach.

"I can't get off!" Hermione panicked, attempting to wrench her arm and leg away.

"You've binded yourselves to one another," Flitwick announced. "Don't worry, you should be free in just a few minutes." Stepping forward to examine the bond, the tiny professor was suddenly pulled against Draco's back, although only his hand was stuck there.

"Looks like he spoke too soon," Ron muttered.

"Hermione!" Lavender cried, running over to her friend. But as soon as she was within a foot of the group, she was pulled forward and stuck to Draco's other side.

"Can everyone get off of me?" Draco growled.

"It appears," said Flitwick, "that you've somehow managed to cast a curse that binds everyone. Now, everyone else, stay where you are. You seem to be safe at that distance."

"And what about us?" Hermione sniffled.

"We'll simply have to wait until it wears off. A normal binding spell won't last for more then half an hour if the spell caster didn't set a specific time. And since you didn't, Mr. Malfoy, I don't think we'll have to wait long."

_Ten minutes…_

"I have to go the bathroom," Hermione whined.

"I'm hungry," grumbled Lavender.

"My feet hurt," complained Draco, hopping from one to the other.

"Stop jumping! You're making my stomach hurt," moaned Lavender.

"Please do," Flitwick inputted.

Wisely, Draco stopped.

"This is boring," groaned Ron.

"Then do the homework I assigned," said Flitwick.

"Anyone want jell-O?" asked Pansy.

"Pansy…" Draco said warningly.

"Did I say jell-O? I meant crackers."

_Twenty Minutes…_

"I can feel your stomach grumbling," Hermione giggled.

"I wanna feel too!" Lavender squealed, placing her own hand on Draco's stomach. "That's so cool! Uh oh…my hand won't come off."

"Can we sit down?" Draco asked crossly.

"How?" asked Flitwick. "You'll sit on me."

Normally, that wouldn't seem so bad to Draco…except for the fact that when he was done sitting Flitwick would be attached to his butt.

"Pass the crackers, Pansy," Ron said, stuffing his mouth with the cheese bits.

"Can we have some?" Lavender begged. "I'll die if I don't eat something soon."

Ron, to be on the safe side, tossed the box to Draco, who caught it. "Nice catch," Neville commented.

"Not good," Draco muttered, attempting to drop the box. "I can't let go of it!"

"This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" asked Pansy. "Hey, I'll go get some popcorn!"

"If I stick my hand in the box will it get stuck in there?" asked Lavender fearfully.

"No idea," Hermione shrugged.

"Well, I'm hungry." The child put her hand into the box and closed it around a handful of crackers. But when she tried to pull it out… "I'm stuck!" she wailed.

"I'm getting a headache," Flitwick and Draco said together.

_Thirty minutes…_

"It should wear off anytime now," the Charms teacher said happily.

"Finally," Draco sighed with relief.

"I'm tired," yawned Hermione. "Can I use you as a pillow, Draco?" Not waiting for an answer, Hermione leaned against the Slytherin.

"Now you're stuck there!" Draco cried, shaking the cracker box as he tried to hit Hermione with it.

"Stop tugging that; you're hurting my hand!" Lavender ordered.

"Then get your hand out of the box."

"I can't!"

"Try doing a trick," Ron suggested. "We're getting bored of watching you all argue."

"You want to see a trick?" Draco smirked. "All right then…"

Using his one free hand (he'd caught the box with only his right) Draco reached into his robe pocket and came out with his wand.

"Hey!" remarked Lavender. "Your hadn't didn't get stuck!"

"That's probably because it's his clothes," Hermione answered wisely. "Right, Professor?"

"Correct, Miss Granger! You can have a cookie from my tin as soon as we get out of this mess."

"Thanks," Hermione chirped.

"What trick are you planning, Draco?" Pansy asked, munching happily on a handful of popcorn.

The blond only smiled. "Accio, Ron Weasley!"

"I DON'T WANNA GO!" Ron shouted, clutching onto a desk. But both Ron and the desk came hurtling and rammed into Draco.

"That…hurt…" Draco moaned, both of his hands now useless as his free one had gone in front to prevent his stomach from being impaled on the desk, Ron sitting on top of it.

"It was your own fault," Ron retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I really don't see what you've accomplished except making this worse."

"At least you're here too now," Draco snorted.

"Has it been thirty minutes yet?" whined Hermione.

"Yes…but we don't appear to be free yet," Flitwick said, puzzlement in his voice.

"Well, then it looks like we're stuck here forever," Draco sighed dramatically. "Good bye, world."

"We may as well make this more interesting," Ron grinned evilly. "After all…the more the merrier."

_Forty minutes…_

"I CAN'T BREATHE!" Pansy gasped, her face firmly embedded in Neville's shirt.

"I'm wearing light cotton…just take nice, deep breaths, you'll get air," Neville comforted, glancing down to make sure Blaise was still able to breathe. The little Slytherin was pressed between Neville and the desk that Ron was sitting on, but he seemed to be doing all right.

"We should have ran away while we had the chance," Terry cried, thumping his hand on top of Padma's head.

"That hurt," the Ravenclaw twin sniffled. "Parvati, he's mean."

"Take that!" the other small twin shouted, kicking her foot into Terry's shin. "Oops…I'm stuck."

"The pain!"

"Oh, quit whining," snarled Draco.

"You're a bloody idiot, Ron," Pansy said, though her voice was quite muffled.

"What? I am not!"

"You just had to accio everyone, didn't you?"

"I was bored!"

"Next time, do something more productive."

"Any one have any suggestions?" asked Draco.

"We could just wait until the next class comes in and then have one of them get Dumbledore," Neville said.

"One problem with that, Mr. Longbottom. Your class is the last one I have until five thirty…"

"We're going to be stuck like this for hours?" Hermione cried. "But I have to go to the bathroom!"

"We could go get help," said Ron.

"And how would you propose that?" Seamus asked icily, his back squashed against Flitwick.

"We could blast a hole in the wall, go outside and find someone."

"And we move…how?"

"Well…we could roll, couldn't we?"

"We'd all get stuck even more together like that," Hannah argued, back to back with Terry. "And it would hurt to actually roll."

"We could try walking," suggested Dean. "All of us have our feet on the floor…except Ron."

"That'll work," Neville agreed. "Can anyone blast a hole? I can't move my arms…"

"I'm still free," Ron grinned, sitting happily on top of the desk. "Want me to?"

"Yeah, hit the wall with the window, we can head straight outside."

"Not my wall!" Flitwick cried as the redhead raised his wand. "Not my beautiful stone wall!"

"Sorry, Professor," Terry apologized. "But we're busting out of here. Blast it, Ron!"

Smiling impishly, Ron shot off a spell. "ERADICO!"

With a tremendous groan, the wall collapsed. "We are on the ground floor, right?" Draco asked as the group painstakingly began to make their way towards the wall.

"Fortunately, yes," Pansy replied. "Otherwise, I would be using Neville as a landing pad."

"That's very kind of you," Neville remarked sarcastically.

"No problem at all," Pansy said airily.

"I can see Hagrid's class down there," Harry announced excitedly, elbowing Dean in the head. "Oops, sorry."

"Great…another person on me."

"I just thought of something," Hannah said as the group inched towards the Care of Magical Creatures class. "That class is down a hill…"

"So?" asked Ron.

"Well, aren't we going to f-AAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL?" she screamed, as the front part of the group hit the slope and fell into a roll, everyone else coming down with them.

"WE'RE GOING TO HIT THE CLASS!" Harry shouted as the ball of the Charms class got closer and closer to Hagrid's students. "TRY TO STOP!"

But luck didn't seem to be with Flitwick's sixth year class. They bowled straight into the third year class, looking at Nifflers, and the group joined their growing magnetic pile.

"I'm being squished!" screamed Hannah as Hagrid fell against her.

"What's going on here?" Hagrid asked, face becoming slightly green as they continued to spin.

"Don't throw up on me!" begged Hannah, wishing she was anywhere but there.

"This hamster thing tickles!" squealed Hermione, as on of the Nifflers flew and landed on her neck, its fur rubbing against the bottom of her chin.

"It's like a roller coaster!" Lavender cried excitedly!

"If this is what a roller coaster is…" Draco muttered, "then I don't even want to go on one."

"Hello there, Rubeus," Flitwick greeted. "The lawns look excellent, such a bright green. Excellent job."

"Why, thank yeh, Filius."

"They're talking about grass! Why are they talking about grass?" Terry demanded.

"We're headed for the lake!" Harry shouted. "We'll drown!"

"Dig your feet into the ground!" Ron shouted, although he himself couldn't do so.

Both classes did so, although their forward momentum was much too great. With a loud splash, the fell into the lake and continued to roll for the deeper part.

Just as Draco was quite certain they were all going to die, he felt himself being lifted into the air. Wishing he could see (he was in the middle of the student ball and could only see his classmates) Draco heard relieved cries from everyone else.

"What have we here?" asked their rescuer, amusement in his voice. Draco was sure that if he could see him, the blue eyes would be twinkling with mirth.

"Over here, Albus!" Flitwick shouted. "Next to Rubeus!"

"Hello there," Dumbledore smiled. "What happened?"

"A binding charm went wrong," the Charms teacher said. "Don't get too close to anyone or you'll get stuck." Draco heard Dumbledore take a few steps back. "Do you know how to undo it, Albus? We've been like this for about an hour now…well, Hagrid's class just joined us."

"I'm not sure," the headmaster said slowly. "What charm was used?"

"The normal one, necto pariter. And no time or distance was set…although the spell did grow before it landed on anyone."

"Grow?" Dumbledore repeated.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger kept reflecting it back and forth between them and it grew larger until it exploded."

"What were they using to rebound it off of each other?"

"A magnet and a mirror Mr. Malfoy conjured."

"I'll need to go get those. Just wait right here until I get back."

_Fifty minutes…_

"What happened?" cried a terrified second year Gryffindor.

"Welcome to the Binding Ball," Ron welcomed, still sitting comfortably on his desk. "You will be here until Professor Dumbledore comes and fixes us. Next time, heed our warning."

"I do say," Professor Sprout muttered, "this is one of the oddest situations I've ever been in."

To backtrack…the class period ended and the second year Herbology students came pouring out of the greenhouses…and had seen the large mass of people. Ignoring the shouts of the bound people to leave and not get close, the class had approached to see what the commotion was. And hence, they also were now part of the ball.

"Draco, I need to go the bathroom!"

"I know you do! Just wait a few more minutes!"

"Can we eat dinner after this is over?" Lavender begged. "I'm famished!"

"I just want to stretch and take a shower," Harry muttered.

"I need ice for my shin," Terry moaned.

"I want-"

"Don't even start, Ron," Neville growled. "You're the reason we're all here and you're not being squished."

"I'm back," Dumbledore announced. "And it looks like I have several more to get off."

"What are you going to do with those?" Ron asked.

"Just watch, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore smiled. "You'll all be free in no time. All I have to do is cast a binding charm on these two items and then cast an unbinding charm on it so the items won't unbind but anything the item touches will unbind."

"That's all we had to do?" moaned Terry.

The students who could see watched with interest as Dumbledore welded the mirror and magnet together and then cast the same spell Draco had originally attempted. Stepping forward, he touched it to one of the second years, and the small boy fell off the pile with a soft thump.

"Run along," Dumbledore smiled. "You wouldn't want to accidentally get stuck again, would you?"

Shaking his head, the Hufflepuff ran off after giving a quick thank you. Calmly Dumbledore made his way across and around, students fleeing as soon as they were free.

After about an hour, only Draco and Hermione were stuck together. "Perhaps I should leave you two," Dumbledore mused.

"What?" Draco cried. "You can't!"

"You did cause this entire fiasco…punishment is in order."

**Off camera:**

Draco: You can't do this, Icy!

Icy: Why not? It'll be fun! -evil smile-

Draco: Do you want to turn this into one of those cliché fics where Hermione and I are stuck to each other? And then we always end up falling in love…

Icy: Not really…but you shouldn't fall in love anyways. She's only five.

Hermione: You mean I fall in love with Draco? Eww…

Draco: Please don't do this! Besides, you like having original plots…not cliché.

Icy: You're right. -sigh-

Draco: MWAHAHAHA! I win!

Icy: Remember…I am typing this. I can make you very embarrassed. Like next chapter.

Draco/panicked/ What are you doing? Icy?

Icy: -smile- You'll see. Back to the real fic! Positions minna-san!

**Back to the story!**

"Please, Professor?" Hermione asked softly. "We didn't mean to do this…"

Dumbledore nodded. "All right then. But please, next time be more aware of what your actions can do."

"Yes, Sir. We understand," Draco answered for both of them.

Smiling, Dumbledore touched both of them with the mirror-magnet and they sprang apart, the box of crackers dropping from Draco's hand. "I'm free!" Hermione screamed, dancing around in a circle. "I can move again!"

She suddenly stopped her twirling and bit her lip.

"Hermione? Is something wrong?" asked Harry, who had stayed to wait for his group to be undone.

"Have…go…bathroom!"

Both teenagers watched as Hermione sprinted for the castle, passing up all of the other students. "Guess she really had to go," Draco smirked. "Well, I'm off to go get dinner."

"I second that," Harry grinned.

When the two arrived at the Great Hall, they spotted Hermione talking quite animatedly to Ginny, emphasizing her remarks with vicious stabs of her fork and nearly poking the redhead.

"Sounds like you all had quite the adventure," Ginny laughed as Harry sat down on the bench next to her and Draco next to Hermione, gently taking the fork out of her hand and replacing it with a spoon.

"Don't remind us," Harry groaned. "Just give me food."

Still laughing, Ginny slid a platter of chicken towards Harry and kissed him fondly on top of his head. "Eat up, you never know what tomorrow is going to be like."

"It can't be any worse then this," Draco said, snatching a roll from a basket and coating it with butter.

"Could it be?" Harry asked worriedly, picking his head out of his arms.

"I don't really know how. I mean, what's worse then being nearly suffocated, unable to move, not able to eat, and being squished?"

"Nothing that I can think of off the top of my head," Harry replied.

"Good, it's settled then. Tomorrow will be much better."

It's a shame one can't simply decide what the next day will bring. Because Fate has a mind of its own, and it doesn't always have to be nice.

**Author's Notes:**

**1- **This is what I commonly say when my twin is driving and I'm in the back seat. :P I just found it funny that I put the same line in the fic.

Well, Draco certainly does have reason to panic. Because next chapter, as the chat group might know, I mentioned it a while back, is going to be highly embarrassing for a select few. I'm sure it'll be a fun chapter…much like Attack of the Dolls.

I do hope I can upload this today…it's all typed and ready but it appears that servers are down. But, if you're reading this, then it means I was able to log in.

Sorry for not updating last week. But as many of you probably saw, my cable modem blew out and I lost internet connection for quite a while.

Oh, and common question to the song Draco recited. Yup, I wrote it.

WannaBArtist- Happy belated b-day!

obseZzionZzZ- Yup, he knows what they are. But they're probably called Tooth Healers, not Dentists at St. Mungo's.

Looby Lou- Happy belated b-day to you too! Sorry I couldn't update. T.T

Nachzes Black-Rider- Truth tell, I lost interest in the fic. I still ? Yugioh, don't get me wrong, but I didn't like the way the story was going. And I don't have any of the chapters. T.T I've got this policy of when I don't like something to delete in completely and never look back. Gomen. I might do another YGO fic someday, but for now I'm just working on the fics I have out now.

Moonlight on the Water- To get hearts, turn on numlock. Then, hold down the alt key and press the number 3 on the number keypad. ?

Kat (kittykitkat)- Kawaii nickname! Mine…well, can't say mine because it has a bit of my real name in it. :P I'd probably, if I ever did a real name that wasn't one that I'd be called kurohyou- it means panther.

knivesgirl346- Hai, I have. I was actually thinking of that one at first, but didn't see where I'd get so many people to push out of bed. :P

tatapp- I have four pets, though one is a lab rat. :P I just hit 1.5 million today, actually. I'm going to go buy my Jelly Chia Plushie! I'm so excited!

A huge thank you to the following people for reviewing! (And sorry if anyone's name messes up. MS word has a mind of its own.)

kat6528, sporq, chibi oniyuri, Sunflower18, scottishbabe110, ERMonkey Burner of Cookies, WannaBArtist, dracofan, YourGaurdianAngel, LishaChan, obseZzionZzZ, HPfreakout, Chibi PsychoRaenef, Eliot Z. Wheatherbee, Airalynn, Looby Lou, HgBookworm, Emma-Lizzy-Black, anonymous, hottennispro88, WS, ShadowOfMoonlight, Chantal J, Moonlight on the Water, Nachzes Black-Rider, LiLbLueangeL1223, charmedsisters, Lyra Parry, Jenzyfer, XWickedGirlX, ladeex13, Rebecca, samhaincat, Shy-Lil-Dreamer, Kylria, pinkstar146, QuietWorld, tonksss, Crystallized Snow, lkwREADer, Max, Elf person, nilepharaohess, cuznhottie, The Lady of the 4leafed Clover, dreamaker13, Thee-Unknown-Factor, xXxReixXx, lilithofunderworld, Tristanluvr, clasyact, Kiwi-San, CareBearErin, Smile88, scarlet-knight13, Karana Belle, draco's gurl, sd, luckygirly, MeLiO, The Warrior Bard, Kat, Lady Nessa Fefalas, amrawo, mizzlilme, Alenor, ohmygawsh, knivesgirl346, natyslacks, SVS, The Stump, Kubla Khun, Rebell, Lady of the Realm, xXxThe coldness of lovExXx, Cierra, Alex, DaddysLiLAngel1, blackrosebunny, kel-warrior-goddezz, lspeakl, Rani Singala, T.C4H.P, HPbabe143, YamiClara, magical-irish-pixie-faerie, Mew Mew Too, Stormy Skies, cc, Aubs, tatapp, coffeentoffee, ash, Amanda, Kornishpixie, goodybad, dragons soul, lilmissmolly, AnglxDevl05, The Lady of the 4leafed Clover, Alexandra, AustereBlackCat, hermy81290, BlueBabyAquaGirl, Sytherin-Princess, apparateawayhp13, JeSsIcA, peanutilover, DracoFan,Laurel Ducky, Cold-eyes-for-you, blind-bella, Chelsea, Mithlond88, baie-baie, HPbabe143, Celestia Memora, and elektrikstorm

As always, reviews are much appreciated! And does anyone have any guesses on what happens next chapter? MWAHAHAHA!


	33. Tea Party!

**Disclaimer: Nothing fancy this time…the spotlight is saved for the chapter.**

**Parenting Class**

**Tea Party!**

Sunshine filtered in through the dark emerald curtains, hitting the Slytherin directly in the face. Groaning, he turned onto his side to escape and buried his head into a pillow.

Heaving a gentle sigh, he was almost back asleep, when several annoying birds began to have a party outside his window. Wincing, Draco covered his ears and tried to drown out the high-pitched singing.

_Tweet! Tweet Tweet! Tweet Tweeeeet!_

_Chirp! Chirppy! Chirpchirp!_

_Peeeeeep! Peep! Peep, peep, peep! Peep, peep, peep!_

"THAT'S IT!" Draco snarled, stumbling out of his bed and marching over to the window. Throwing it open, he watched in satisfaction as the birds took immediate flight and disappeared to go bug someone else.

Normally, Draco wouldn't be in such a foul mood if he was awoken by a couple of bloody birds. But...it was a Wednesday! And that meant that he didn't have his first class until ten! And he could sleep in and relax. In other words... it was his first break since Hermione had turned into a monster.

But some stupid birds had just forced him to actually get up and therefore made his morning off to a rather grouchy start. Clambering back into bed, Draco pulled the covers up over his head, snuggling once more down into the soft folds of his blanket.

"Hi, Draco!" Hermione chirped, her head on the pillow next to him.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Harry came running into the room a second later, wand out and ready to strike down whatever the threat was. Seeing only Hermione and Draco, the latter of who was still screaming, he lowered it.

"DON'T DO THAT!" Draco thundered after he stopped screaming.

"I only said good morning," Hermione pouted.

"So she woke you up too?" Harry grinned. "Why don't you seem very happy?"

"It's Wednesday," Draco pointed out.

"And…that's so important, why?"

"We don't have class until ten! And I, for one, was planning on sleeping till then and now I can't!"

"Why not?" Hermione asked. "It's only seven thirty...you still have two and a half hours."

"Because," Draco growled, "I'm not tired anymore. You, the sun and the damn birds woke me up."

"Language," Harry reprimanded. Draco only glared.

"Look on the bright side," Hermione grinned. "Now you can play with me!"

"In that case, I'll try and go back to bed."

"Actually, I have news for you," Harry smiled mischievously. "You have the entire day off."

"That's nice," Draco mumbled, already pulling the blanket up over his head. "Wake me up at nine so I can still..." He broke off suddenly, the impact of Harry's words just hitting him. "You mean we have the whole day off?"

"Why would I lie? That's for Slytherins."

"But why?"

"Something about teacher institute day. They're all getting together to have a meeting about the classes and school, so we get the day off."

Before Draco could say anything, Leviculus's voice sounded through the room. "There are several visitors here...would you like me to let them in?"

"Who are they?" Harry asked warily.

"Several friends of yours."

"All right. Tell them to stay in the common room though."

A few seconds later, Draco and Harry both winced as high pitched screaming reached their ears and much deeper yelling answered back.

"It's Lavender!" Hermione squealed. "She came over to play!" With a huge smile, Hermione ran from the room to go greet her playmate.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Draco muttered, rubbing his ears and thanking Merlin silently that the yelling had stopped at Hermione's appearance.

"Me too. Although, what are we afraid of?"

"Nothing," Draco said firmly. "We're the ones in charge here, right?"

"Right."

"…"

"So why are we feeling unsafe again?"

"We're not…are we?"

"I'm not sure."

"This is getting us nowhere. Let's head out."

"You're right. You can go first."

"Oh no, I insist, you go first. I'll watch your back."

"It's not my back I need watched…it's my front."

"You'll be fine, don't worry," Draco assured.

"I'd much rather you go first."

"But I insist that you go."

"You go," Harry growled.

"No, you!" Draco snapped, trying to push Harry out of the room.

Snarling, Harry locked arms with Draco and attempted to shove him out first, both circling around the room with their teeth bared at one another. "Okay," Draco panted after several seconds of useless grappling. "We'll go out at the same time."

"Fine." Both lined up at the door, about two feet from it. "On my count, okay?"

"Whatever."

"Three."

"Two," chimed in Draco.

"I said my count, meaning _my,_" Harry grumbled. "One…and go!"

Both started forward, but at last second Draco pushed Harry out in front and the Gryffindor tumbled into the common room. "Don't move," Hermione cautioned, a wand pointed and aimed at Harry's head as he lie on the floor.

Behind the child, Harry could see Ron being pinned down by Lavender, a large trunk on top of his legs effectively preventing him from kicking and duct tape over his mouth. Reaching forward, Hermione pulled Harry's wand out of his pocket and threw it to Lavender.

"Why are you on the floor?" Draco asked, walking out of the room and not noticing Ron tied up in the corner.

"If you take one more step, I'll hurt him," Hermione warned, wand trained steadily on Harry. "Now, hand me your wand, Draco."

"No."

Hermione pressed Ron's stolen wand against Harry's forehead. "Want to repeat that? I do know some spells."

"How would you know anything?" he scoffed.

"I read the entire book of _The Standard Book of Spells _by Miranda Goshawk."

"And where'd you find that book?"

"I found it in Harry's room," Hermione clarified. "So, do yourself a favor and surrender your wand to me."

"Do you mean do Harry a favor? I don't think so…"

"We wouldn't be in this situation if you'd just walked out with me," Harry sneered.

"I told you to go first."

"But we agreed that we'd walk out at the same time. And you pushed me!"

"Slytherin," Draco smirked, that one word all the explanation in the world.

"Bastard is more like it."

Draco's mouth dropped in mock horror and even Hermione looked startled. "In front on the children, shame on you," Draco scolded.

Realizing his error, Harry turned a deep red hue of embarrassment. "I meant something else…honest!"

"And you think I'm bad for using 'damn'. Maybe you should get some soap in your mouth."

"But that's mean!"

"So? I had it done to me earlier."

"You did? When?"

"When you were sleeping. A certain someone thought I needed punished for calling Pomfrey a bird."

"A bird?"

"Well, I used a different word but I'm not going to say it in front of children."

By now, Hermione was beginning to lose her patience. "Both of you be quiet and let me finish threatening you."

"Sorry for interrupting," Draco said cheekily. "Do continue."

The girl stamped her foot and Harry was certain that if she'd been a cartoon character smoke would be pouring out of her ears. "Give me your wand or Harry will pay," she threatened.

"Prove you can actually perform magic," Draco insisted.

"Fine." Pointing the wand, Hermione said quite calmly, "Adustum." At once, flames shot up around Harry and he yelped, sliding himself away from the fire before it could catch to his clothes.

"Okay, fine," Draco said, throwing his wand to the ground. "Now put the fire out." With another wave of the wand, the flames disappeared, leaving only a large scorch mark on the carpeting.

"You made the right choice…welcome to the dark side," Hermione grinned evilly.

"I'm not on the dark side or your side," Draco countered. "I'm only saving Harry's life…although I don't really know why. He did call me such a nasty word. I think I'll go get soap."

"You're not going anywhere," Hermione said. "Go sit down by Ron or face the consequences."

"Ron's here?" Draco repeated, looking around and spotting the subdued Gryffindor.

"How'd you let two girls get the better of you?" Harry asked, being walked over to his friend at wand point. Ron mumbled a reply through the gag. "I can't understand you."

Lavender peeled the tape off Ron's mouth and went over to Hermione, both girls conversing quietly but still keeping the wands trained on the boys. "I walked into a trap," he growled. "Lavender said she wanted to come down and play…that's no problem. Terry asked if he could go hang out with some of his Ravenclaw friends. I said fine."

"And you got into this mess…how?" Draco asked, examining his robes for any damage from the fire.

"Lavender asked me to carry this huge trunk," he said, nodding at the one he'd pulled off his legs and was now sitting innocently next to him. "It's from Pansy, to there's nothing dangerous in it…at least, I hope not. Anyway, just as we were entering the room, the little brat stole my wand and cast a tripping jinx."

"Where'd she learn that from?" Harry asked, quite puzzled.

"Probably from Hermione. Who else would teach it to her? So, I started screaming when she jumped on top of me and tried to get that weird sticky stuff over my mouth…what is that stuff?"

"Duct tape," Harry said. "A muggle object."

"Oh. And well, you know the rest…she finally managed to get me quiet when Hermione came out…and you two bloody idiots were nowhere to be seen and then you have some stupid argument about coming out a door."

"Well, at least now we know why something didn't feel right," Draco smiled.

"May we have your attention, please?" Hermione asked, standing in front of the three. "We'd like to play a little game with you."

"Game?" Draco asked. "What kind of game?"

"One you're all going to love," Lavender inputted. "But, to be on the safe side, we'll hold onto your wands so you have to do what we say."

"You've tainted her," Ron cried, pointing at Lavender in horror. "Why Hermione, why? Lavender was so innocent…and you've ruined her."

"Oh no. I've seen the error of being good and have switched to the evil side. Besides, they have moofins." Lavender grinned.

"Moofins?" the trio chorused.

"Moofins, muffins, same thing," Hermione said, waving the whole matter away. "But as it stands, Lavender has joined me and nothing you do will bring her back. I am her father."

"…"

"What did she mean by that?"

"It's from a movie," Harry explained. "Although it's a little different."

"What movie?" Ron asked.

"Star Wars," Harry said. "It's one of Dudley's favorites."

"Oh, I've heard about that! Dad is obsessed with the skyplanes they have."

"Do you mean spaceships?"

"Possibly."

"Can we get back to what the game is?" Draco queried.

"Sure," Hermione agreed. "Everyone, stop talking and let me finish…now that I have your attention, I'm pleased to announce we will be playing…any guesses?"

"I hate guessing games," Draco stated.

"Me too," Ron concurred.

"Harry?"

"I don't like them either. Can't you just tell us?"

"You ruin all the fun," Hermione complained. "Oh well. The game is…tea party!"

"No way," Draco protested, crossing his arms defensively across his chest. "You are not going to get me to play that."

"It isn't so bad," Ron said. Harry and Draco looked at him wide-eyed.

"And how would you know?" Harry asked.

"When Ginny was little she loved to set her dolls up and serve them tea and little cookies. Mum made me play with her half the time, but it really wasn't so bad. I even got to eat the cookies. Haven't either of you played before?"

"No," Harry said grumpily. "I really can't see Dudley playing that and therefore, I never had too."

"I played once and I'm never doing it again."

"Did you play with the house elves?" Harry asked. "I thought you didn't have any sisters."

"No, although I wish. And you're right, I don't have any siblings."

"Then who did you play it with?" Ron asked, the three once more ignoring Hermione.

"Pansy," he said with a shudder. "Father and I went over to her house, this was when I was about six, and Pansy invited me to play tea party with me. And…I'm not saying the rest. It's too embarrassing."

"So, what do you say?" Hermione asked. "Tea party or torture?"

"How bad can it be?" Ron asked. "What do you guys say?"

"Since Pansy isn't here…fine."

"I'll do it," Harry sighed miserably.

"You just made a fatal mistake," Lavender giggled, the seriousness of her remark lost by her laughter.

"Oh no, they're all in for a rather enjoyable afternoon. And I've got a camera!" Hermione cheered, holding up Harry's.

"That's mine!"

"Finders keepers," Hermione taunted, sticking her tongue out. "Now, go sit down at the table while Lavender and I get the tea party ready."

"I don't see what's so bad about this," Ron said, sinking into the couch cushions, Harry next to him and Draco in the armchair.

"Here's cups!" Lavender bubbled, placing a set of blue and purple porcelain teacups on the table.

"And I have the teapot and cookies! And orange juice!" Hermione exclaimed. In a matter of minutes, the food had been laid out, tea made, and napkins placed.

"We still have to get dressed," Lavender squealed. "Let's go find some dresses!" Both raced over to the trunk, spent several minutes going through it and then ran into Hermione's room.

"The cookies aren't bad," Harry announced, licking his fingers. "Very sweet."

"And the tea is all right," Ron declared. "Although a little sugar cream would be nice…"

"I don't like this…" Draco muttered, staring at his tea. "Something doesn't feel right."

"Ta da!" All three boys looked up to see Lavender and Hermione standing in front of them. Hermione was wearing a green and white plaid summer dress with large yellow sunflowers. Lavender had on a satiny dark purple dress with a large black boa wrapped around her neck.

"You both look very nice," Harry complimented, knowing praise always worked well.

"Thank you," Lavender laughed. "But first I want to ask you something. Do any of you recognize this? It fell out of the trunk…"

The nicer of the two evil girls handed a small photograph to Harry. In it, a little girl was wearing a bright pink frilly dress and chasing a small blond boy around the room, trying to zip up the back of the dress Lavender was currently wearing.

"Is that you?" Ron asked, mouth dropping.

"I can see why it was embarrassing," Harry chuckled. "Did Pansy make you get all dressed up?"

"It isn't funny," Draco protested, a light pink color forming on both cheeks.

"I think we embarrassed him," Hermione giggled, snapping a picture of the blushing Draco. "Now, time for you to get ready for the tea party too!"

"We are ready," Ron said.

"You're not dressed yet," Lavender explained. "We picked out clothes for you. Now, I'll bring you back and make sure you get dressed and Hermione will keep an eye on you other two. Ron, come with me."

"What kind of clothes are we talking about?" Ron asked, as Hermione pushed him off the couch and walked him over to Lavender at wand point.

"Pretty ones," the girls said in unison. And with that, Ron was led out of the room and into Hermione's the door thudding closed behind him. Seconds later, screaming, which Harry and Draco identified as Ron's, sounded as well as several curses that won't be appearing for the rating would have to go up.

"I'm scared," Harry whimpered.

Draco only nodded his head, too afraid to open his mouth. Several impatient minutes later, Lavender exited the room, Ron walking in front of her and staring at the floor. Harry, who'd been taking a sip of tea, spat it out in horror.

"Smile for the camera!" Hermione ordered. Ron didn't. Sighing, the girl snapped the picture as Ron was and sent him in the direction of the couch. "What have they done to you?" Harry whispered, voice on the edge of hysteria.

Ron had been forced into a wedding gown, complete with veil and train. It was a rather low cut one with a sharp v-neck that went down to about four inches past his collarbone. Jeweled sequins were sewed into the cloth, little white bows on the puffy sleeves. Light purple flowers were intertwined with the veil and flowed all the way down the train.

"Someone kill me," Ron moaned, putting his face in his hands.

"Your turn, Harry!" Lavender sang. "Come on, we haven't got all day."

"Try and console him," Harry whispered to Draco as he was marched across the room by Hermione.

Draco looked at Ron. Ron looked up at Draco tearfully. "Run while you still can," he said softly.

"I'm supposed to console you, not run…"

"Yes, but you can get help. Get Terry or Ginny…they have wands and will help us."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Now go!"

Draco judged the distance between himself and the portrait. About thirty feet. Hermione was in the middle, at about fifteen. If he could sprint like he'd never done before, somehow manage to get around her, and then he'd be free.

With a jump, Draco tore from the couch, feet pounding against the carpeting. Time slowed down as he ran, arms pumping furiously at his sides and legs flying through the air. And then, not even a foot before the portrait, the sensation of freedom stopped as he was tackled by Hermione, a wand thrust into his face.

"You," she said dangerously, "have just gone against orders. And now you will have to pay."

"I saved your life. You owe me," Draco pointed out.

"You are in no position to attempt to bargain. As soon as Harry comes out, you will get to see the object of your demise."

"Harry's done!" Lavender said cheerfully, pushing Harry out of the room. Harry wasn't as fancy as Ron. He had on a simple orange sundress with bright pink polka dots. And underneath, you could see a pair of red and gold boxers poking out. "Those were too long," Lavender said, pointing at the boxers. "But he refused to take them off."

"For good reasons," Harry growled, itching his back where some frilly lace was irritating him.

"Smile for the camera!" Hermione bubbled. Harry scowled. "Why don't any of you smile?" Hermione asked, after taking a picture of the frowning Harry. "It would look much better."

"We don't really feel like smiling," Harry snarled.

"That's too bad," Hermione sniffled. "Well, come along, Draco. You can't keep Lavender waiting."

"Yes I can."

But just as Harry and Ron had been carted off, Draco was too. The two Gryffindors bowed their heads as they heard screaming behind the closed door, and then utter silence. "What do you think happened to him?" Ron asked, pushing the veil farther up his head.

"No idea…I hope he's all right."

At that moment, the door opened and Lavender stepped out. "He fainted and I can't get him out; he's too heavy!"

"Fainted?" Harry and Ron repeated. Neither could imagine Draco doing so in any circumstance.

"Yup, I think I made the corset too tight."

"You did what?" Ron screeched.

"Made the corset too tight," Lavender repeated. "Harry, can you go get him? He has to join us for tea."

The boy-who-lived obliged, and went into Hermione's room. Lying on the floor, in a blood red ball gown was Draco, face a light shade of purple. "Hey, you okay?" Harry asked, kneeling down next to him, having to move several layers of petticoats and dress skirts out of the way.

"I…can't…breathe…"

"I'm going to help you stand up, all right? Then I'll loosen that thing."

"Oh no you won't," Lavender hissed, appearing at Harry's side. "Draco is being punished for trying to run away. You will leave the corset exactly as it is."

"You're killing him!"

"Nah, he's all right. He just has to learn to take shallow breaths…those deep ones won't work. Now come on, the tea is getting cold!"

"Okay, Draco. Take nice, little breaths. I'll help you out to the couch."

"It'd…be better…if…you just…killed…me…"

"You don't mean that," Harry consoled, draping one of Draco's arms around his shoulder and slowly making his way out to the couch. "You can rest as soon as we reach the couch. Besides, women in previous eras wore corsets all the time…can't you?"

"Problem is…I'm…not a…girl…"

"I know you aren't. Look, we're at the couch." Gently, Harry helped Draco to collapse next to Ron and then seated himself on the other side of the red head.

"Draco isn't any fun when he's like this," Hermione complained. "I'll loosen them…just a bit so we can actually have a party."

The Slytherin gave a happy sigh of relief as Hermione untied the cords and then put them in a loose bow, allowing him to draw in a solid lungful of air.

"Is everyone comfortable?" Lavender asked, sitting herself primly on the edge on an armchair.

"Can I take the veil off? I think I'm allergic to the flowers on it."

"What do you think, Lavender?"

"It does look rather nice…although I don't really want him to get sick…then he won't be able to play with us as much."

"Good point. Okay, you can take it off." Happily, Ron did so. "Now that that's settled, we all have to decide on names. Lavender and I made up names for you three."

"Why do we need names?" Draco asked, attempting to roll up the sleeves but giving up when the material refused to bend to his will.

"You're all girls, silly. So you have to have girl names."

"GIRLS!" all three shouted at once.

"That's right," Lavender smiled, clapping her hands. "I'm Latifah!"

"And I'm Hazelle!"

"Draco, your new name is Darlita!"

"Darlita?" Draco echoed. "That's awful! Why can't I just stay Draco?"

"Because Draco is a boy's name, that's why," Hermione growled. "Now, Ron, your new name is Rachelle! Isn't it lovely?"

"I feel so lucky."

"And Harry? Yours is Halima! Lavender thought it suited you."

"It's a pleasure to be having tea with all of you," Lavender said. "Rachelle, would you be so kind as to pour us all tea?"

Deciding to humor the girls, Ron picked up the teapot and poured some into each cup. "There you are, Latifah and Hazelle."

"Why, thank you Rachelle," Hermione smiled, taking a dainty sip. "Darlita, could you cut us all a piece of cake?"

"No."

Hermione and Lavender's eyes flashed, and wands were suddenly aimed at Draco.

"Just humor them," Ron whispered. "It'll prevent any further injury."

"Fine," Draco grumbled, picking up the knife and cutting the small chocolate frosted cake into five equal pieces and placed one on each plate.

Little did any of the boys know that Hermione and Lavender were taking pictures at a rapid pace, the flash turned off so no one would be alerted of the constant clicking.

"Thanks Darlita!" Lavender chirped. "Mmmm, this cake is so yummy! What do you think, Halima?"

"Delicious," Harry agreed, taking another bite. "Who made it?"

"Pansy did. When I told her Hermione and I were planning on hosting a tea party, she gave us all of this stuff. The dresses we're wearing she used to dress up in and the ones you're all wearing had an enlargement charm cast on them so they'd fit."

"I am going to _kill _Pansy once I get my hands on her," Draco snarled, hands clenching into fists at his sides. "That…that…bird!"

"Is bird a bad word?" Lavender questioned.

"No, Draco's just using it in place of some other word," Harry smiled nervously.

At that moment, Leviculus spoke. "There are several others outside wanting to come in. Shall I?"

"No!" Harry cried. "Don't open that portrait!"

"Too bad I have the password," Ginny sang as the portrait swung open and she stepped in, followed by Pansy and Blaise. "What are you all doing over…here?"

Her eyes had lighted on the boys, and a smile began to tug on her lips. "This isn't funny," Ron said crossly. "Make them give us back our wands!"

"Please, Rachelle. Don't raise your voice at the table," Hermione reprimanded.

"Would you like to join us?" Lavender asked. "There are more then enough cookies to go around."

"I'd love to," Ginny grinned, sitting down on the floor in front of Harry's feet. "Beautiful dress you have there, Draco," she smirked. "And Ron, the wedding gown is lovely."

"Would you like a cookie, Blaise?" Hermione asked eagerly, holding out a plate to the shy, black haired boy. The boy shook his head. "Just one? They're really good!"

Slowly, Blaise took a singe cookie, the smallest one, out of the tin. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Hermione asked. "Come sit down with us…don't worry, you don't have to get dressed up."

Looking at Pansy, who gave a go ahead nod, Blaise sat down a few paces from Ginny and simply ate his cookie.

"This is blackmail for life," Pansy crowed, taking out her own camera and snapping several pictures. "Oh, maybe I should post them around school!"

"If you do that, I'll do everything in my power to make your life a living hell," Draco threatened.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Just watch me."

"Okay. I'll do that." Both Slytherins glared at each other, before Pansy finally looked away and Draco smirked in satisfaction.

"Can we get out of these dresses now?" Harry asked, as politely as he could.

"What do you think? Should we let them?"

"I don't know," Hermione mused. "How about, I'll ask all of you a different question about something out of the book I read. If you get it right, then you're free to take them off. Who wants to go first?"

"Me!" Harry said quickly.

"Okay…what's the incantation to unlock something?"

"Alohamora."

"You're free to go. Now who?"

"I'll go," said Ron.

"Okay…what's the incantation for setting things on fire?"

"Let me think…you used it today…Audio? Add? Adustum?"

"Final answer?"

"Adustum, final answer."

Hermione pouted. "Go change. Draco, your question is…who's the book by?"

"That's not a fair question!"

"No, it is. The name of the author is in the book. Right Ginny, Pansy?"

"It's a fair question, sorry Draco," Pansy snickered. "Go ahead and answer it."

"But I don't know it!"

"Then you have to stay in your dress until bedtime!"

"No! You can't make me!"

"I have your wand."

"And I don't care! I'm getting out of this stupid dress!"

And so, several minutes later all three boys were once more back in their normal clothes, wands safely back in hand. (Draco did have to wrestle it away from Hermione though and his hair had been turned bright orange in the process from a spell shooting off the tip of the wand.)

Currently, Harry was sitting comfortably on the couch next to Ginny, enjoying some 'quiet time'. "Can you two please get a room?" Ron asked, shielding his eyes from the make out session. "This is just really awkward."

Smiling, Harry and Ginny disappeared into Harry's bedroom, the door closing behind them with a snap. Next to Ron, Draco was muttering furiously to himself and casting different charms on his head. "I can't go out like this!" he cried, pointing to the pumpkin hair. "Someone fix this!"

Lavender and Hermione were packing up Pansy's trunk, Blaise watching them silently and nibbling on his cookie that he still hadn't finished. Pansy was across the room looking at the assortment of books on the shelves.

"Okay, that wasn't the charm I wanted," Draco muttered, his hair now frozen to his head. "I supposed I'd better melt it."

"That looks like it hurts," Hermione commented as Draco's head lit on fire and the Slytherin ran screaming for the bathroom. Butterscotch, now free from the bathroom, raced out and jumped up on the table, happily devouring the remaining cookies.

"Okay…that's it!" Draco shouted from the bathroom door, hair dripping wet with a blackened look to it, although it was back to blond. "Everyone, it's time for you to go."

"Aww," Lavender sulked. "But I don't wanna go yet."

"You're coming," Ron stated, hopping off the couch and scooping the child into his arms. "Terry is going to hear about this."

"Time for us to go, Blaise," Pansy announced, levitating her trunk. "Say good bye to everyone." The child gave a tiny wave and then fell into step beside Pansy, both leaving a second later.

Draco knocked once on Harry's door and threw it open. "I hate to interrupt this kissing session, but it's time for Ginny to go. We have a lot of homework to…"

The Slytherin paused as he noticed both had vanished, the sound of the portrait closing seconds later. "Ditching, huh?" he muttered. "Fine then…I'll watch her."

And surprisingly, watching Hermione the rest of the afternoon wasn't hard. She was perfectly content to curl up on the couch next to Draco, sometimes using him as a pillow, and read some of the books for beginning spells while Draco did his homework.

"Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm…I'm sorry about earlier."

"About what?"

"I've been trying really hard not to hurt you or Harry…and I did hurt you today. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Draco grinned, ruffling her hair.

"Hey! You messed it up!"

"Go get your brush…I'll fix it." Happily, Hermione obliged.

"Can you put it in a braid? Oooh, a French braid would be nice!"

"I'll try," Draco chuckled. "Now sit still, okay?"

And so, when Harry came back after the entire afternoon out with Ginny, he found Hermione sound asleep, one hand fisted in Draco's shirt and the other loosely holding her book, a long braid hanging off the side of the couch.

"You have some explaining to do," Draco stated. "You know you're not supposed to leave like that!"

"Sorry, but Ginny and I wanted to head out for a while…"

"Next time, just tell me, got it?"

"Yes, Sir," Harry saluted. "How's she been?"

"Quiet as a mouse almost. It looks like her tea party tired her out."

"Well, we have dinner in a little bit…we all kind of skipped lunch."

At the mention of food, Hermione shifted in sleep and then cracked open an eye. "It's dinner time?"

"That's right," Harry said cheerfully. "Let's go get you something to eat."

The three made their way towards the Great Hall, Draco staring at several students strangely as they pointed and laughed. "What's so funny?" he asked, after glaring silent a fourth year Ravenclaw.

"I think that," Harry said, pointing at a picture on the wall, another one several feet down. In it, Draco, Harry and Ron were all in their dresses and drinking tea. "Pansy," Draco hissed, eyes narrowing down to slits.

"Let's not get to hasty," Harry said quickly.

But Pansy chose that second to appear from a lower hallway. As if she could feel Draco, she turned…and screamed as Draco charged.

"I've taught him so much," Hermione sighed, a dreamy expression on her face. "Look at him go…perfect stance, great leg work…"

"HELP ME!" Pansy screeched, racing down the hall with Draco hot on her heels.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Pansy, noticing Snape coming down the corridor, ran and hid behind him. "Uncle Sev, you have to help me!"

"He's my uncle, not yours!" Draco snapped. "Get away from him!"

"No, he's mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

Both had now grabbed onto one of Snape's arms and were tugging him each time they yelled 'mine', to emphasize their point. "ENOUGH!" Snape bellowed, yanking his arms out of the duo's reach. "Twenty points from Slytherin and both of you have detention tonight. See Mr. Filch after dinner for your assignment."

"You can't give me detention," Draco wailed. "I'm your godson!"

"I'm sorry, Draco. But I cannot let you simply walk away. Have a nice evening."

"This is all your fault," Draco snapped at Pansy as soon as Snape was out of earshot. "You got me in detention!"

"Me? You're the one who tried to kill me!"

"Because you posted those pictures!"

Pansy smirked. "Don't you like them? You look so good in a dress."

With a growl, Draco tackled his fellow Slytherin and they went tumbling down a staircase, both trying to strangle the other to no avail. "Draco sure is making a scene," Hermione commented. "He's doing very nicely."

"Making a scene is not good," Harry corrected. "It'll only make it more embarrassing in the end. How about, while they're fighting, we go take down all the pictures?"

"Okay!"

After about a good half hour of scouring the castle, Harry and Hermione had found every single picture and torn it down, all then being burned. "Ready to go get dinner now?" Harry asked.

Hermione's stomach rumbled an answer. "I think that's a yes."

When the two arrived at the Great Hall, neither Pansy nor Draco were anywhere to be seen. "Have you seen Draco?" Harry asked, sliding onto the bench next to Ginny.

"Did I ever," she laughed. "They're both in the Hospital Wing right now. Draco broke Pansy's arm by the sounds of things…and she broke his ankle."

"Are they out of detention then?"

"Nope! Pomfrey told them that they could serve detention under her guide…so they're doing something in the Hospital Wing. Although I don't know what…that's all I heard the teachers talking about."

"Can we go up and see them?" Harry asked.

"We're not supposed to. They're being punished for fighting like that…but I think they'll both be staying the night."

"Well, Hermione's pretty tired. She shouldn't be a problem."

"You might want to rethink that," Ginny said softly, pointing at the child.

Hermione was stuffing her mouth full of cookies from a platter by her right elbow, paying no mind at all to the salads or pastas set out down the middle of the table. "Thesecookiesareawesome!Youshouldtrysome,Harry!" Hermione bubbled, bouncing up and down in her seat. "Ilovethesecookies!"

Harry moaned. He was going to be in for a long night.

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry if I make these a bit short. I'm feeling awfully light headed and staring at the compy screen isn't helping at all. So, a huge thank you to all of you wonderful reviewers!

Also, I've gotten several questions (despite me having said many chapters back I can't answer them anymore), most of which are already somewhere in a FAQ in the story. Please look there.

And, good luck to everyone with finals testing! Mine are this week and I'm scared to death of them. XD

As always, reviews are much appreciated and they feed my mind for the next chapter! Till next Sunday! -knocks on wood- Last time I said that, I lost connection for a while.

Two notes...

**RenegadeMustang **I'd luv to see that page! If you ever feel like sending it, my e-mail's on my profile. That'd be fun to read!

**samhaincat **We're getting close. That scene will happen in the next two chapters...I haven't decided which one yet.


	34. Too Complicated For Words

**Disclaimer: Harry's a little teapot short and stout. Here is his handle -points at hand- and here is his spout. -points at mouth- When he gets all steamed up hear him shout "Icy doesn't own HP, now I'll pout!" So Harry's a bit delayed in his song, but oh well. Nor does Icy own Phantom of the Opera, which a small portion will be appearing. :P**

**Parenting Class**

**Too Complicated For Words**

Harry was not in a good mood. Actually, he was far from it. Far, as in he was the South Pole and the good mood was the North.The day had started off bad and was getting worse. Much worse.

He couldn't really understand why this was happening. After all, both he and Draco had agreed at dinner the night before that nothing could be worse then yesterday. But how was it possible that today was? They'd gone over the steps, the events and had concluded that today would be much better. So what happened?

Had they jinxed themselves? No…that couldn't be it. Draco had knocked on wood for them. _'Fate must just really have it in for me,' _Harry thought miserably, lying flopped out on the couch.

He'd managed single-handedly to get Hermione upstairs and past the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost fortunately noticing neither of them, a strange occurrence since Hermione was shouting at the top of her lungs about cookies.

She, although Harry hated to admit it, was on a sugar high. A very high sugar high. He knew he should have watched what she was eating…but he was tired. Besides, her parents were dentists…she ought to know what was good for her, right?

True, but he hadn't bargained on the fact that Hermione would throw that useful, _healthy _knowledge out the window and only eat the cookies, lathered in sugar crystals with bright red sprinkles. So now, after an exhausting day he had an extremely hyper five year old on his hands who had no thought of going to bed.

"Bedtime, Hermione," he said wearily, hoping beyond hope it would work.

It didn't.

"ButIdon'twannagotobed!"

"I know you don't," Harry sighed. "But it's almost eight and you should go take your bath."

"Idon'twannatakemybath.Hey,Harry!Doyouwanttoplayagamewithme?Pleasewithatoothbrushontop?

"You need a bath," Harry repeated.

"No!Iwanttoplayrightnow.Nottakeastinkybath!"

It took Harry a moment to translate. "Baths aren't stinky. You're the one who smells."

"I'mnotsmelly!Youshouldtakeabath!"

"I'll take one if you'll take one."

"Youtakeyoursfirst!"

"I'll take mine later," Harry replied evenly. "You get yours first and then straight to bed." Inside he was thinking, '_How did Draco handle her?'_

"ButI'mnottired!" Hermione protested, pausing her jumping on the armchair to look sternly at Harry. "Iwannaplayagamefirst!"

Harry groaned and massaged his head. "Okay, fine. We'll play a _quick _game. Then, it's bath time and then into bed."

Contrary to having a calming effect that Harry had hoped, Hermione grew even louder. "Yay!Wegettoplayagame!Whatgamedoyouwanttoplay?Howaboutcoboys?Oh!Orhowaboutwizardsandwitches?Weareatawizardingschoolanywaysoit'dmakemoresense.WhatgamedoyouwantoplayHarry?Doyouhaveanysuggestions?"

Harry stared dumbfounded at the child, mouth hanging open. "How can you talk so fast?" he managed to say, mind still trying to rewind Hermione's rapid message.

The girl paused and chewed on her lip. "I don't know," she said slowly. "When I'm really excited I talk fast though…Mommy says it's hard to understand me…is it?"

Harry rapidly nodded.

"Oh. Should I stop talking so fast?"

Again, Harry bobbed his head up and down.

"But I don't really want to…it's a lot funnertospeakreallyreallyfast.Don'tyouthinkso?

"No, I don't."

Hermione stuck out her lower lip but said, "All right then. I'll talk normal. So…what do you want to play?"

Harry shrugged. "No idea. Nothing to wild though…I don't want you all riled up."

"Can we dance? Please? I love it when Mommy turns on her music and I get to sing and dance to it!"

"I do have a wizarding tape player," he admitted. "But I don't think any of my music is…appropriate for you to sing. It's more for teenagers…"

"I found some music in my trunk! Can we play that?"

Immediately, Harry said, "No."

"Why not?"

Well, he couldn't say that it was the music that older Hermione listened too…and he didn't know if any of it would be suitable for a five-year-old. But…this was Hermione he was talking about. Even older, she couldn't listen to violent music, right?

"Scratch that. Find something that looks nice and bring it out here, okay?"

"Okay!" Hermione raced inside her room and came back a minute later with a CD. "I found a CD player in there too…but it's too heavy. Can you go get it?"

"What CD did you find?"

"The Phantom of the Opera! It's one of Mommy's favorite musicals! I like it too!"

"All right…" '_That doesn't sound too bad. Aunt Petunia went to see that with some of her friends…and she seemed to like it…although I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. In any case, it won't have anything bad in it.'_

A little later, Harry had lugged out Hermione's CD player and set it up on the table. Hermione was bouncing around him, waiting impatiently for Harry to load the CD. "Go to song number five," she commanded, once Harry was getting ready to press play. "That's my favorite one!"

Harry smiled as a large blast of piano came on, but absolutely nothing too loud that would have portraits down the hall complaining. Settling back on the couch, he watched with amusement as Hermione picked up a roll of parchment and held it to her mouth like a microphone. "Ready, Harry? You sing the Phantom's part!"

"But I don't know it!"

Hermione threw him the CD case, which contained the lyrics, and began.

Her voice was a tad too high and squeaked in some places, but overall Harry was okay with it.

"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came."

Harry chimed in with the next line, "That voice which calls to me and speaks my name."

"That's not your part!" Hermione screeched.

'_And do I dream again?'_

"Then what is?"

'_For now I find'_

"You're the Phantom! That's Christine's part! Sing when the guy is!"

'_The Phantom of the Opera is there--- inside my mind.'_

"You made me miss my part," Hermione wailed as the music continued on. "Your part is next! Don't be late!" she called as musical solo sounded.

"Sing once again with me, our strange duet."

"You have the entire tempo messed up! Flow with the music!"

'_My power over you…grows stronger yet."_

"I've never heard how it goes!" Harry argued. "How am I supposed to sing it?"

'_And though you turn from me, to glance behind…'_

"Try and picture it!"

"But I've never seen it!"

'_The Phantom of the Opera is there--- inside your mind.'_

"Okay, my turn," Hermione said as another instrumental solo came on. "Come in when you hear the Phantom."

"Those who have seen your face, draw back in fear…I am the mask you wear…"

'_It's me they hear…'_

"You missed your cue!"

'_Your/my spirit and your/my voice…'_

"It's a little hard when I don't know where to start!"

'_In one combined…The Phantom of the Opera is there…inside your/my mind…'_

Hermione stuck out her tongue. "No excuses! Christine's part is coming up, so just be quiet and I'll sing."

The girl began to let out the high-pitched vibratos as the Phantom said 'Sing my Angel.' Harry relaxed on the couch, before clamping his hands over his ears. As the real singer's voice got higher, Hermione got closer and closer to screaming.

As Hermione rose with each note, Harry dug his fingers deeper into his ears and buried his head under the pillows on the couch. Butterscotch, in Harry's bedroom, howled mournfully.

And then…came the loudest, shrillest, scream Harry had ever heard. And with every ounce of his strength, he crammed his fingers into his ears. And then…there was blissful silence.

Looking up, he saw that the song had ended and Hermione flipped off the CD player. Her lips moved and she smiled at him, doing a little curtsy. He shot her a puzzled look, wondering why she was only mouthing the words.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked, his eyes widening in amazement when he heard nothing. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Hermione said something and laughed, but again Harry heard nothing. "CAN YOU SPEAK LOUDER?" he shouted, praying he'd hear some sort of noise.

Nothing.

Hermione unrolled the parchment she'd been using and wrote in neat print, **Can you hear me?**

"NO!" Harry yelled.

**You don't need to speak so loud…you're breaking my eardrums!**

Ears…that was it. Harry stuck a finger in his right and wriggled it around.

But nothing happened. '_I must have pushed my fingers too far in when Hermione was screaming,' _he realized, horror dawning on his face. '_I destroyed my hearing!' _"HERMIONE! I DESTROYED MY HEARING!"

**And you're going to destroy mine, **Hermione scribbled furiously. **Should you go to that hospital place? Maybe the nurse could help you.**

"GOOD IDEA!"

**Speak softer! I can hear you fine!**

"Sorry."

**That's better. **

Both made their way out of the common room, Hermione grinning from ear to ear. She was out of her bath! And she didn't have to go to bed yet.

Harry on the other hand was moaning softly to himself, although he couldn't hear it. It got worse. Somehow, against all odds, his day had gotten worse. Now, he was deaf. And that wasn't such a good thing while he was with Hermione.

Halfway to the Hospital Wing, Harry became suddenly aware of Hermione tugging furiously on his robes and pointing a shaking hand down the corridor. He peered into the gloom, shrugging when all he saw was the Bloody Baron.

But as he watched, the ghost said something and then flew towards them, hands outstretched and stained with silver blood. Harry, although he didn't know why he was being attacked, scooped Hermione into his arms and ran, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Draco, who had been resting comfortably in his hospital bed jerked up when he heard the very familiar noise.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Sounds like Hermione," he smirked, putting away the book he'd been reading. "I wonder what Harry's doing with her out so late at night."

"YOU WILL DIE, MORTAL GIRL!"

"And the Bloody Baron is back too, how nice," Draco said, shaking his head in amusement. "Isn't that right, Pansy?" His fellow Slytherin didn't answer him, the sleeping draught he'd snuck into her water glass having knocked her out cold.

A cold grin crossed over his face. There had been a side effect to the potion…when she woke up, poor Pansy would be covered in huge electric blue spots that would continue to multiply every time she blinked. Oh yes…he was getting revenge. She would pay for putting up those pictures of him. She'd pay dearly.

But back to present matters…why was Harry screaming bloody murder when it was almost eight thirty and he should have had Hermione in the bath or reading her a story? The door to the Hospital Wing burst open and Harry rushed in, before slamming it behind him and locking it.

Several of the other patients in the room (a second year Hufflepuff in for cracked ribs she attained falling down a staircase and a Gryffindor fourth year covered in animal fur that had been the result of a Slytherin hexing him) looked up in surprise, but then turned over and tried to go back to sleep.

"DRACO, YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!" Harry shouted. "THE BLOODY BARON IS AFTER US! AND I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING! WHERE'S MADAM POMFREY?"

"I'm right here, Potter. Kindly keep your voice down, I have sick patients. Now, what is it you're saying?"

Hermione held up a piece of paper to Harry's face that read: **Talk normal! You're shouting again!**

"I lost my hearing…can you make it come back?"

"Sit down and let me take a look."

Harry remained standing.

"He can't hear you," Hermione said. Stepping behind Harry, she gave him a firm push in the direction of one of the beds and he stumbled over there, sitting on the edge of it.

Madam Pomfrey bent down next to him and shined her wand in his ear. "It's just an ear bubble," she sighed. "Those aren't hard to fix at all."

"So you can cure him?" Hermione asked.

"Of course."

"Darn." Taken aback my Hermione's wish for her guardian to remain deaf, Pomfrey cast a strange eye on the girl.

"Surely you don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. Because once he gets his hearing back he's going to give me a bath." Draco, once more behind his book, chuckled. "Think that's funny?" Hermione bristled, marching over to the Slytherin.

"Unfortunately enough, yes."

"CAN I BE CURED? WHY ISN'T ANYONE SAYING ANYTHING? AM I GOING TO BE LIKE THIS FOREVER?" Harry asked, when no one turned to talk to him had assumed the worst and had begun to yell.

"You'll be fine, Potter, as long as you be quiet. And I have just the thing…silencio! That's better."

Harry, on the other hand, had no clue he'd been silenced and continued to shout, but this time he was

allowing the other patients to sleep.

"How'd that happen?" Draco asked Hermione, as Pomfrey bustled about the room, grabbing some potions

off of shelves.

"We were singing," she said, settling herself on the foot of his bed. "And then, when it was over, I found

Harry covering his ears. He couldn't hear me after that."

"What were you listening to?"

"Phantom of the Opera," Hermione grinned. "We were doing the song when the Phantom takes Christine through the mirror!

Draco actually knew the musical Hermione was talking about. After all, it had been a favorite of his parents and he was required to watch it as well. It hadn't been too bad, now that he thought about it…and he could clearly remember the scene in which Hermione was talking about.

"And who sang Christine's part there?" he queried, although he had a gut feeling Hermione was about to say…

"Me!" Hermione said happily. "And I did really good too! Harry kept missing all of his cues and ruined it!"

"And did you successfully manage to hit the last note?"

"Uh huh. But Christine sounded better."

Draco didn't have the heart to tell her that it was her singing that caused Harry to lose his hearing. So, instead he said, "Then I guess the music didn't like Harry."

"What do you mean?"

"In the wizarding world, different music can decide if the listener should be allowed to hear it. I can only assume that the Phantom was displeased with Harry's singing and made him so that he couldn't hear it."

"That makes sense," Hermione agreed. "But will the Phantom let him have his hearing back?"

"Yes…Madam Pomfrey will fix him in a few minutes. See, she's already at work." Indeed the mediwitch was. Poor Harry was having potions crammed down his throat to pop the insanely large ear bubble Harry had given himself.

"Those don't look like they taste too good," Hermione commented, watching as Harry gagged on a mint green potion.

"Most of the stuff here doesn't."

"Can you hear me now?" Pomfrey asked, rapping her knuckles on Harry's head.

"I can!" Harry cried joyfully, hugging the nurse.

"Good," Pomfrey said stiffly, prying Harry off of her. "Now, head back to your common room. I'll send you a pass…it's past nine and you should have been in bed already."

"But I don't wanna go back!" Hermione whined. "Then I have to take a bath!"

"Can I go back with them?" Draco asked. "My ankle feels a lot better now." In truth, Draco merely wanted to get away because as soon as Pansy woke up, she'd be ready to kill him…and he wasn't quite ready to go yet.

Pomfrey picked up Draco's ankle from the pillow he'd had it resting on. "All right, go along too. But take it easy for the rest of the night and tomorrow. If you come back, I can guarantee I won't fix it as fast as I did today."

"I understand," Draco said, carefully climbing out of the bed and placing both feet on the floor, his left ankle only aching slightly. "Good night, Madam Pomfrey."

Harry, after taking the pass, followed Draco out of the room, Hermione clambering on top of Harry to ride piggyback, just in case the Bloody Baron came by. He'd have to get Harry first to get her.

"You do know," said Harry as they walked down the corridor, his eyes scanning for the evil ghost at every intersection. "That you are taking a bath when we get back."

"Do I have too?"

"Yes," Draco and Harry said together.

"Fine then," Hermione pouted. "I'll take the yucky bath." Draco and Harry gave triumphant grins.

When the trio arrived back at the portrait, Leviculus was sleeping soundly and Draco had to poke the poor jester to wake him up…their shouting getting them nowhere. "Don't go poking a sleeping jester, young lad," Leviculus reprimanded, after receiving a hard jab from Draco's hand on his arm. "But hurry up and go in," he yawned. "You should have been in there ten minutes ago!"

They all hastily scrambled in, Hermione going to her room to pick out a pair of pajamas and then into the bathroom. Harry and Draco flopped down on the couch, Butterscotch bounding out of the Gryffindor's room and slobbering kisses all over Harry's face.

Less then ten minutes passed before Hermione called for Draco's assistance in her hair washing and the blond went off to answer her summons. Harry, while Draco was gone, packed up the CD player and put everything back in Hermione's room, although he was sorely tempted to throw the CD in the fire.

A little while later, Draco exited the bathroom and Hermione made her way out a few minutes after, her hair wrapped up in a towel and a cute little pair of pink pajamas with several Disney princesses' on them.

"Who are those people on her shirt?" Draco asked, nodding at the clothes.

"That's Snow White," Hermione said proudly, pointing at the girl in the yellow. "And the one in pink is Sleeping Beauty! And the one in blue is Cinderella! I don't have Jasmine though…she's on my pillow back home though."

Draco nodded, although he still had no idea what Hermione was talking about. "Time for bed," Harry announced. "Come on, Hermione." Reluctantly, the child entered her room and crawled beneath her covers, picking up a teddy bear from the nightstand and clutching it to her.

"Can I ask you something?" she questioned as Draco and Harry sat down on the foot of the bed. "I heard two girls talking about it two nights ago at dinner."

"Ask away," Draco said, resting his back against the footboard.

"What's sex?"

Harry's mouth dropped. "It's your gender," he said. "Like male or female."

"No…they weren't talking about it like that. What is it?"

Draco eagerly opened his mouth to speak before Harry clamped a hand over it. "I think you should wait until you're older to hear about this, Hermione," he said evenly.

"Why? It's not bad, is it? The girls sounded like the liked talking about it."

"It's not bad at all," Harry assured her. "In a manner of speaking."

Draco wrenched Harry's hand away. "Should we give her the G-rated version?"

"I'm not going to stop bugging you until you tell me. Otherwise, I'll just go ask Pansy. She'd probably know."

"Okay, fine," Harry said irritably, throwing a glare in Draco's direction, the Slytherin feigning innocence. "Sex is…anyone have a dictionary?"

Draco pulled one off of Hermione's bookshelf. "I don't think I'd better give the definition in here," he said, closing it shut. "Too complicated. Listen up, Hermione. Sex is-"

"-when two people love each other very much," Harry interrupted. "They do…certain things that make them happy."

"Like eating candy?"

"Let's go with that."

"But then why didn't you want to tell me?"

"It's a bit more…complicated then eating candy. It makes them really, _really, _happy. As long as its done right, I suppose."

"What's done right?"

"The thing they do," Harry said, clearly growing frustrated.

"But what do they do?"

"In general terms, it's called sleeping together," Draco smirked. "What really happens is-"

"Oh! I get it!" Hermione smiled. "Then Mommy and Daddy have sex every night!"

"THEY WHAT?" Harry screeched.

"Well, they sleep in the same bed all the time." Both boys visibly relaxed. "And that's what sex is, right?"

"One hundred percent correct," Harry said, before Draco could go saying anything else that would ruin this perfect explanation. "And that's all there is to it. We just didn't want to tell you…you're not supposed to know the official term at such a young age. Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"I promise," Hermione said, crossing her fingers over her heart. "I just have one question. If I crawl in bed with Mommy and Daddy, does it mean I'm having sex too?"

"No! Nonononononono!" Harry said quickly. "It only works for people who are near the same age. You're too young…don't worry."

"Oh, all right then. Do I have to go to bed now?"

"Yup, bed time. Good night, Hermione," Harry said, thankful the conversation was over.

"Good night," Draco echoed, throwing a glare at Harry. He ruined Draco's definition. Stupid Gryffindor…

"Don't I get a good night kiss?"

"You're demanding, aren't you?" Draco asked, placing one on her left cheek and Harry one on her right. "Now go to sleep, all right?"

Within minutes, Hermione was sound asleep and Draco and Harry were both curled up in their beds, Butterscotch resting on the foot of Harry's and Sparkles tucked safely in Draco's arms. And then they too drifted off into the world of dreams.

* * *

With a parched throat Hermione woke up around two in the morning. Reaching for her water glass, she raised it to her lips, but no water came out. Frowning, she sat up and looked into it, only clear crystal gleaming up…no water. 

Hopping out of bed, she made her way to the bathroom, rubbing her eyes sleepily with her left hand and grasping the cup in her right. Climbing on top of her stepstool, she began to fill it with water from the sink. As soon as it was almost at the rim, Hermione jumped off the stool. But as she landed, the glass slipped from her hand and landed on the floor with a sickening crash, glass shards and water spraying everywhere.

Now wide-awake, Hermione looked around for some way to clean up her mess. Opening up the cabinet door beneath the sink, she emerged with paper towels and began to sweep the glass into a pile and mop up the water. Using a dustpan and a small broom, she swept the crystal up and threw it in the garbage can.

As she was putting the paper towels away, her eyes lighted on two boxes in the back. Curious, she pulled them out. _'Who would put stickers in the back of the bathroom cabinet?'_ she wondered, looking over the boxes. One contained 'stickers' and the other contained long tubes.

Opening the sticker box, Hermione pulled one out, surprised when she found it wrapped up. Undoing the plastic on it (and wincing at the loud noise) Hermione was left with a long, white item that was sticky on the back.

"I could decorate the common room with these!" she giggled. "Except I only have one box. Darn it!" Kicking the box next to her, Hermione almost yelped in alarm as about thirty more appeared, all stacked up in neat rows around the bathroom.

Being still a child, Hermione's accidental magic was bound to kick in. And it had. Just like Harry's had done when he was upset, hers did too and to soothe its mistress, her magic created several more boxes for her amusement.

"What are you called, anyway?" she asked, reading the label on one box. "I have to ask Harry and Draco to get more…pads, huh? That's an odd name. And what are these?" she wondered, picking up the smaller box. "Tam…tampons? Okay then. I don't know what I'll do with you but I'll find something."

Humming softly, Hermione exited the bathroom with several boxes of her newfound stickers and began to cover the walls with them, as far as she could reach. "It looks much better now," she smiled, surveying her handiwork.

About three feet up the wall in a solid line were the pads. "They're squishy too," she bubbled, poking one. "If Harry and Draco crash into the wall it won't hurt as much! But I have a ton left…what to do…" Slowly opening Harry's door, Hermione felt a grin split across her face.

Tiptoeing nearer to the sleeping boy, she opened her box and began to plaster them all over Harry. A soft growl to her right made Hermione jump and she turned to see Butterscotch. "I can't leave you out of all the fun," she whispered, slapping one of the puppy's muzzle, and then all over the golden fur. "There you go."

Once she was done with Harry (he now resembled a mummy…but she had left a spot over his mouth so he could breathe) Hermione made her way into Draco's room, the Slytherin receiving the same treatment. "They're all gone now," she said sadly, looking down into her empty box. "But I still have the log things left…"

Opening up one of them, Hermione got a sudden idea. Going into her room with the box, she pulled out her case of markers and set to coloring them. "You look like submarines!" she said happily, examining her small naval fleet. "Now you need water to float in…"

Going back into Draco's room with three of her precious submarines, Hermione dropped them into the waterfall in the corner. "Much better now," she said, surveying the bobbing vessels.

Having a sudden idea, Hermione went into the bathroom and turned the sink and bathtub on, after making sure to close the drains. Within a few minutes, the sink had overflowed and the bathtub was getting close. Putting the remaining submarines in either the sink or the bathtub, Hermione exited the bathroom and crawled back into her bed.

She couldn't wait to see their faces the next morning.

**Author's Note:**

Oops...sorry for the delay. One was the muse- who would like to thank those who lured her away with cookies and other treats. Those of you who either tried to sneak her laxatives, stunned her, or kicked her she is all set to kill, but as of now she's locked up in her room. Also for the delay was the site upgrade. It wouldn't let me log in and it took me quite a while this morning to find out how to upload...it's all so confusing. And MSword kept having paragraphing issues, so if anything looks really weird, let me know. n.n

The whole last part beneath the line was Tubbles14's idea. She gave me this awesome idea based on an account of her friend's trouble with his little sister...the wallpapering was Hermione's own idea, but the whole submarine thing...give a hand to Tubbles! -applauds-

Also, Bronwen kindly submitted a piece of fanart! Check it out on the webbie!

And yes, the Dark Side does have moofins :P I'm part of it. XD But not all of the Evil people give out moofins. If you'd like one, I'd be more then happy to give you one though. I'm, as my friends say, the nicer one of the evil side. Sounds kinda weird, huh?

Wow, lots of AN's. Just wanted to let you know, Draco's b-day was yesterday! So, I went through the fic and changed all years resulting him. He's now sixteen and just a little older then Harry and almost a year younger then Mione. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DRACO!

And (another note...oh my Kami...) Good luck to those of you who still have finals and grats to everyone who's done! I hope you all did well! (I don't think I did XD)

As always, reviews are appreciated, loved, cherished, pleasing, and any other words that sound like that. A huge thank you to the following people for their's:

mizzlilme, LishaChan, excessivelyperky, BlondeGal123567, Rani Singala, raisa, Chantal J, Sunflower18, trapped-in-a-dream, wockygal, Laurel Ducky, Airalynn, Chailyn Cole Runewood, Beach-Babi, Cherry Blossom02, lilithofunderworld, hermionelurver, humblelilbookworm, siriuslyinsane, Nachzes Black-Rider, RenegadeMustang, Take twice daily, Jamamamie05, Kat, Kaichai, HgBookworm!Matt, Kylz, Jaina, Lady-Crymsyn, nemo114278, cArnivor, .Nyome., goodybad, Melia Nerine, XWickedGirlX, JediPirateElfyDude, GoldenGirl313, LiLbLueangeL1223, Fieryfox92, anna, Scissors- Paper's Worst Friend, Emma-Lizzy-Black, Sayaku-chan, Lyra Parry, coffeentoffee, Rikki Aiken, MokubaDoll, Moonlight on the Water, Gertyke, Stella Blu, triquetraperson, Shalaren, sprinkles.over.glass, southsidefountain, tigerlily727, DisguisedInnocence, scottishbabe110, defying definition, tinyanywhere, RougePriest, elvengoddess696, DelusionalReality, hp-lotr-potc-fan, sakura1221, who cares, MusicIsLife28, Lexivampiress, Lee-lee,Karatu, Sweet As Butterbeer, MissDitzy, StarDust002, EatSleepReadHP, Sage, oiseau de feu, skysongscry, rakasha-wolf, Friday13, CherryBlossomAngel-225, brownlow-babe, pinkstar146, Steelo, tubbles14, KatiePhantom, ThePhantomRoarer, Fire-Pack, knivesgirl346, rach, FutureBroadwayStar, Sasqwish, catwraith, hermionerocks2008, Pixiedust, qtangel12, scarlet-knight13, sou1121, FireBringer, blondibanana, dan-lovr, fallen, Ptrst, Ali, and DaddysLiLAngel1

Some notes :P

**Nachzes Black-Rider**- Actually, I type them in a day or two XD I'm a procrastinator. I only normally type on Sat. night and Sunday morning. Kinda stupid of me, ne? All that extra work instead of a little at a time. Oh well :P

**RenegadeMustang**- The only one I don't know is the Daemon Diary. :P

**Ptrst**- Thanks for the muse advice! I'll have to try that!

**knivesgirl346**- Good luck with your surgery! You'll be in my prayers! Make sure they give you a teddy bear! n.n

**DelusionalReality**- I loved the bunny! I hope this puppy works...

♥(.¯.)♥  
(.♥.)  
-woof-


	35. Time for a Sleep Over!

**Disclaimer: I seem to be at a blank for songs. :P If you'd like to suggest an easy tune in which to put the disclaimer too, let me know! For now, a boring old disclaimer: IcyPanther does not own Harry Potter.**

**Parenting Class**

**Time for a Sleep Over!**

Harry was awoken by something nudging his face, muffled whimpers the only sound in the early morning. Prying open his eyes, Harry panicked at only seeing darkness. Fumbling on his nightstand for his glasses, he placed them on his nose, although the blackness still remained.

Reaching up to touch his face, the Gryffindor was quite surprised when his hands encountered something soft and squishy; definitely not flesh. Grasping the edge of whatever it was, Harry yanked it off his face, cheeks stinging as the sticky material was pulled right off his skin. But horror overtook the pain.

Numbly, Harry stared at the item in his hand, mind processing over the events in his head last night. Had he been drunk? No…he hadn't ever had Firewhisky before in his life. Was it Halloween and he dressed up as a mummy? No…October had just started.

And once Harry realized that nothing made sense except for the fact that he was covered in pads, he did the only logical and sane thing any teenage boy would do in his place. He screamed.

Draco woke up to the screaming, and almost began when he realized he couldn't see either. But, realizing it was just something covering his eyes, he yanked it off, staring in horror at the item. "I have a pad on me," he said calmly. "Actually, I have many on me," he restarted, noticing his entire body was covered. "And there are tampons floating in my waterfall."

The last though seemed to click. "NOT MY WATERFALL!" Racing over, Draco began to try and pull them out, the submarines seeming to have a life of their own and dodged out of his grasp, although in reality it was Draco's franticness that was causing him to miss.

In her own room, Hermione woke up, delighted to hear her guardians. Slipping eagerly from her bed, she exited her room, gasping as water poured over her feet as soon as her bedroom door opened. A good five inches rested on top of the carpeting in the common room, the bathtub and sink having long since flooded the bathroom.

Racing over to the wall, Hermione poked one of the pads that was submerged, squealing as water came out. "It's squishy!" she laughed, poking it again. Cocking her head, the girl grinned when she heard the screaming. "Looks like they're wide awake. I wonder if they like the new decorations..."

Skipping over to Harry's room, she threw open the door. "Good morning, Harry!" she chirped. The boy ignored her completely still screaming and trying to rip the pads off of Butterscotch. Leaving Harry's room, Hermione went over to Draco's. "Good morning, Draco!"

The Slytherin looked up from his waterfall. "Did you do this?" he snarled, gesturing at the pads all over his body and the submarines in his fountain.

"Yup! Isn't it pretty?"

Draco growled and muttered something, but the only words Hermione could make out were: Kill, Die, and Witch. None of them which sounded very good. "I think I'll be going now," she squeaked, backing nervously for the door.

The careful tiptoeing turned to fleeing as Draco lunged at her, a wild gleam in his eyes. "HARRY! HELP ME!" she cried, running into the common room and crashing into the Gryffindor, who had just exited his bedroom.

"Get away from her," Draco growled. "I want to kill her!"

"No," Harry replied evenly, Hermione's knees trembling in relief. "I have first dibs." Forget the relief.

"You…you can't kill me!"

"Watch us," Draco said, steadily approaching with his wand drawn.

Hermione screamed and tore off for her room, but the two teenagers blocked the way. "Don't think you're getting away," Harry informed. "You are going to pay."

At that moment, a bright voice rang from right outside the portrait. "Good morning you three! We decided to swing by and pick you up for breakfast."

"It's Ginny!" Harry shrieked, dashing off to his room and slamming the door. Draco did the same, although the water pouring into his room made it rather hard. The portrait swung open not even a second later.

Ron gaped as he entered behind his sister, blue eyes wide in terror as he examined the walls. Terry and Neville looked exactly the same. "Hi everyone!" Hermione said brightly. "What do you think of the room?"

"What did you do?" Pansy whispered, feeling her own mouth drop.

"I decorated it," Hermione defended. "The walls are squishy now…so Harry and Draco can't hurt themselves. And look! When you poke some of the stickers they shoot out water."

"Let me try!" Lavender grinned, copying her friend. "That feels so weird!"

"What are these?" Blaise asked, picking one of the submarines out of the water. Pansy clapped in delight that Blaise had once more spoken (it was still a very rare occurrence) but the happiness died when she realized what he was holding.

"Those are bad," Neville said, using his wand to pull it out of Blaise's grasp and toss it back into the lake.

"They're not bad!" Hermione exclaimed. "They're my submarines!"

"Where are Harry and Draco?" Ginny asked nervously, looking around for either of the guardians so they could explain the entire fiasco.

"Hear that?" Hermione asked. The group fell silent and listened. Muffled screaming could be heard from Harry's room, accompanied by howling. "They're both in their rooms…but they're really upset for some reason, so I don't know if it'd be smart to go in there."

Ginny, taking no heed of Hermione's warning, dashed across the water strewn room and entered Harry's bedroom. What she saw made her recoil in shock. "Harry?" she whispered, gingerly reaching out a hand. "Did…did _she _do this to you?"

Harry gave a nod of his head, his face buried in his pillows, Butterscotch flopped down by his master's side. "It's…not that bad," she comforted, sneakily picking his camera off the nightstand and snapping a few photos. Ginny didn't plan on using them…but when it came time for Hermione, Draco, and Harry to go through all of their photos she wanted them to have a large assortment. And since she didn't have her camera at the minute…

"It's awful," Harry sobbed, reaching up with one of his hands and trying to pull one of the stickers out of his hair. "They're really hard to get off…and they hurt."

"She didn't know…she's just a little girl."

"She's going to be a dead little girl," Harry clarified, removing his face from the bed, emerald eyes alight with fire.

"Now, now," Ginny said, reaching forward and yanking off the pad Harry had been trying to remove for a while, ignoring the boy's screech. "You don't want to be killing anyone."

"Yes, I do," Harry growled. "But I'll make it long and painful. I'll dress her up in these…these _things! _And then I'll-"

"No, you won't. Come on, Harry. Don't be so hard on her…I'm sure once you and Draco tell her to not do this again, _in a calm, mature way, _she won't be pulling anymore stunts like this."

"But it's too late already. You've probably taken pictures, haven't you?"

"Of course not," Ginny lied, patting Harry's hand, before ripping off the pad there too, bright, pink skin left behind. "I wouldn't do that to you. Now, hold still and I'll try and get some more of these off…"

Over in Draco's room, the blond was staring at his face in the mirror, the horrible products Hermione had put on him there now gone. A soft knock sounded on the door. "Draco, can I come in?"

"No," he muttered crossly. Pansy didn't listen and entered anyway. "I thought I told you no."

"But there was something I wanted to show you," Pansy said, an evil smile stretching across her face. "Look at me, Draco." The blond did so, in his misery completely forgetting about the curse he'd put on her last night.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The girl's normally peach face was covered almost every inch in bright blue spots, the curse traveling down her arms and legs, visible on her sandaled feet. "I can take one guess of who would do something like this," she said, voice still honey sweet, more spots appearing every few seconds as she blinked.

"What's wrong, Drakie-poo?" she asked, advancing on him slowly, with her camera out. "Do you not like the way I look? Is something wrong? I had a concealment spell on all the way over here…but it's gone now and for some reason I can't put it back on."

Draco, by now, had grabbed both camera and wand, preparing to take a photo of the spotted Pansy. Much too his surprise, his fellow Slytherin allowed him to snap the picture, one he knew she'd normally strangle him for.

"Now it's my turn," she smirked, raising her camera. "First a dress and now this. What is Hogwarts going to make of you, Draco?"

"GIVE ME THE CAMERA!" he yelled, diving for Pansy, the girl snapping the picture at that exact moment. "PANSY! GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW!"

"No," she said, dancing nimbly out of his way. "I'll go post these around the school now. It's so nice that that Creevy kid showed me how to develop just a few pictures at a time without doing the entire roll. I'll see you later!"

As Pansy exited, screams from those waiting in the common room sounded. Draco smirked; they got to see how horrible she looked. Hopefully, she'd scare off everyone and be made fun of. But…if she were to post those pictures. He'd have it worse.

"I need to think of a better curse next time," Draco grumbled.

"What _are _these things?" Lavender asked, pushing the squishy wall again. "Can we get one in our room, Ron?"

"Merlin, no! Come on, we're leaving this place…coming, Terry?"

"Right behind you…"

"I don't wanna go yet!" Lavender wailed as Ron picked the struggling child up in his arms and left with his group.

"We should be going too," Neville said, edging around Pansy and picking up Blaise, who also looked at Pansy with distrusting eyes. "Ginny, are you ready to go?" he called towards Harry's room.

"Yep," the redhead said with a grin. "Let's go get some breakfast. We'll see you three at the Great Hall!" she said happily, leaving the portrait with Neville's group. In the hallway, Draco listened with satisfaction as she screamed, now catching sight of Pansy's face.

Harry exited his room, still mostly covered but some of the stickers gone. '_Nice thoughts…don't kill her. Be gentle.'_

But the reprimanding Ginny had given him fled as he saw Hermione, humming happily to herself and pushing the submarines around the room. '_Mustn't…lose…control…' _It was the fact that the girl was unharmed, not embarrassed in the least, and _happy _while he was _not _that sent Harry off the handle.

However, just as he was about to charge, Draco tore from his room and straight for Hermione. The child heard the sloshing of the water and looked up, moving just in time as Draco dove and landed face first in the spot she'd just left.

That sparked Harry. With a battle cry, he too jumped forward and began to chase Hermione around the room. Hermione ran over to the portrait, but as Leviculus had said in the beginning, it was child locked and she couldn't escape.

As she cowered by the bottom of it, Harry and Draco crept forward, eyes focused determinedly on their prey. A giggle escaped the girl's sealed lips, despite she knew that this wasn't exactly funny. Here she was, being attacked by boys who were wearing squishy, pink pads.

"Do you see anything funny about this?" Harry asked his partner in crime.

"Nothing at all."

"Then why is she laughing?"

"What's it matter? We're going to kill her either way."

Hermione shut up at that. Seeing now escape route, the boys too close in, Hermione rose to her feet, preparing to do battle. Just as she thought all hope was lost, she spotted an opening to escape. Taking the initiative, she hurtled between Harry's legs, and fell into the water. Wasting no time, she ran to the window and threw it open, glancing fearfully down at the ground.

Looking over her shoulder, her eyes landed on two teenagers, both who wished to kill her. Ground or certain death? Taking a deep breath, Hermione jumped out of the window, her eyes shut tightly.

"She's gone," Draco cackled.

"Yes, she is," Harry grinned.

Then, both looked at each other.

"ACCIO NIMBUS TWO THOUSAND AND ONE!"

"ACCIO FIREBOLT!"

Climbing on their beloved broomsticks, both Seekers hurtled out the window, speeding for the falling girl, who had still not hit the ground. Harry swooped below her, catching the child on his broom and Draco floated down next to them, using one hand to steady Hermione.

"You saved me!" she cried, hugging each around the neck once they had hit the ground. "I knew you wouldn't let me die."

The Ravenclaw Quidditch team, who had been practicing over at the field, watched the strange scene. Even though Quidditch wasn't starting yet, the team members who weren't children (that was five out of the seven) had been practicing some new training techniques to prepare early for the match. However, the sight of two boys covered in pads and a girl jumping out a window was much more interesting.

"Hey, Potter!" the captain, a seventh year by the name of Jason Scrumtol, shouted. "Malfoy! What are you wearing?"

"Can I kill her now?" Draco asked, fingers twitching.

"It's…a new…style?" Harry said.

"Are you asking or telling?"

"It was her fault," Draco snarled, pointing at the innocently smiling Hermione. "She did this!"

A loud rumbling overhead broke off conversation. Everyone looked up to see a cascade of water coming out the window, several books and papers coming with…as well as a submarine that landed right on top of Draco's head.

"Who has a camera?" Jason asked, although his words were barely distinguishable for he was laughing too hard. Hermione happily handed over the one she'd found in her bedroom. It took both Harry and Draco a second to react. And when they did, it wasn't a pretty picture.

Draco shot to his feet and tackled Jason, struggling for control of the camera. Hermione screamed and ran as Harry raced after her. The rest of the Quidditch team jumped in to help Jason, who was getting beaten up quite nicely by Draco.

Harry, who was now almost at the Quidditch field, stopped his run and came to a halt. Why was he embarrassing himself more by being out here? He could go back into the tower, get changed and clean up. Nodding to himself, the Gryffindor slipped past the battling students and flew up and in through the window. Looking down at the battle ground, Harry shrugged and went into his room to get changed.

The Ravenclaw Quidditch team, after realizing that all Draco wanted was the camera, dropped it and ran. Hermione wasn't so smart. She had doubled back to the tower and had planned on taking Draco or Harry's broom up. She wasn't quite prepared for the rabid Slytherin to be waiting for her.

Turning tail, she fled once more, Draco right on her heels. They left the area of the Quidditch pitch and headed down past the greenhouses.

Out for a morning stroll was Professor Snape. He wasn't one to go outside and appreciate nature but he did appreciate the fact that Professor Sprout was letting him have some of her newly grown Beeroot plants for his class.

He'd just exited Greenhouse Four, two potted Beeroot plants in his arms, when he spotted Draco. His jaw slowly fell. The plants crashed to the ground. His eyes grew wide. His skin many shades paler.

"What's wrong with you, Severus?" Sprout greeted cheerfully, locking the greenhouse. "Niffler got your tongue?"

Still laughing, she looked out over the castle grounds…and gasped, nearly loosing her balance. "Is that…?"

"Don't say it," Snape said, shaking his head to bring himself back to reality. "It must be an illusion charm of some sort."

"They certainly look solid enough," Sprout commented, as Hermione raced into the lake, water spraying up at her heels and temporarily blinding Draco. "They're interacting with actual objects."

"Just tell me, for my own sanity, that they're just hallucinations."

"Okay. They're just hallucinations. Now, how about picking up those poor plants and let's head in for a spot of breakfast." Nodding, Snape bent down and picked up the pots (both of which had an anti-breaking spell on them) and followed the Herbology teacher to the castle.

Upstairs, in their room, Harry had managed to get every single pad off and was now dressed in his robes, ready to welcome the coming day. He'd managed to get rid of the water and magicked off the new wallpaper. But that was where good things ended.

The walls now had huge pieces of paint missing from them, and it was quite obvious against the blue and green polka dots. The wooden cabinets in the bathroom were ruined beyond repair from water damage. The markers Hermione used to decorate the tampons had bled their color into the carpeting, giving off dark gray patches every few feet.

"It's better then it was," he sighed, running a hand through is unruly hair. "I hope Hermione and Draco come back soon…we really should head down for breakfast."

After waiting over five minutes and seeing no sign of either out the window, Harry grabbed his books and headed out the portrait, smiling when in Leviculus' portrait there was a small flood and the jester was nowhere to be found.

Harry had just sat down at his table, Ginny on his right and Neville on his left, when screaming was heard from right outside the doors. Students turned to look as Hermione Granger came tearing into the room and raced down the length of the tables, Draco Malfoy right behind her.

Hermione was a normal sight to be seen running. Draco…he certainly wasn't. Cameras were pulled out of bags and purses, many recording this moment in history forever. After all, it isn't everyday you see the famed Slytherin covered in feminine products.

Harry, wishing he had nothing to do with the two of them, buried his head in his arms. But, to make this even harder for Harry, Hermione ran over to him and dove beneath the table to land right by his feet. Draco, of course, tried the same thing.

It, for some strange reason, didn't work quite as well.

Draco's butt got stuck halfway under the bench and he kicked his legs fruitlessly to free himself. His arms stretched forward, trying to grab Hermione but falling just an inch short as she scrambled backwards.

"Can I pretend that they're not there?" Harry muttered. "This is so embarrassing."

"I don't think you'll be able too," Ginny smirked, as Hermione began to scream, Draco pulling out his wand to use on her.

Harry winced and pointed his wand at Draco. "Stupefy." The Slytherin ceased all movement. Blushing like mad, Harry pulled Draco out from beneath the table and beckoned for Hermione to come out too.

Pointedly ignoring the whispers and giggles, he hauled Draco back to the common room, Hermione trailing meekly. When they reached the portrait, Harry was glad to see that Leviculus was back on duty, looking a little wetter for the wear but otherwise quite unharmed.

Throwing Draco on a couch, Harry then went over to the window and called up the blond's broom. "Stay right there," Harry warned when Draco recovered the use of his limbs and made to go towards Hermione. "I've had it way past my limit with you two. Draco, you're sixteen! Start acting like it! At least when you're in public. Hermione, you need to know that you can't do whatever you want. You should _not _come into our rooms without permission, understand?"

"Also, those things you used are not for what you used them for, okay?"

"I understand," Hermione nodded. "I'll knock next time and if no one answers I won't go in. But what are they supposed to be used for?"

"You'll find out one day."

"I want to know now."

"Later."

"Now."

"Now."

"Later."

"Good girl, we're in agreement," Harry grinned, ruffling her hair. "Why don't you go get dressed in some clothes and out of those pajamas? We have a full schedule ahead of us."

Glaring at him, Hermione hopped off the couch and skirted around Draco.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Harry asked, sitting down next to Draco.

"I still want to kill her."

Knowing he was hitting below the belt, Harry said, "Honestly? I thought only Death Eaters did that."

Draco stiffened. "You know what I mean."

"Then quit saying it. Make peace and try not to let her get into your head. She's promised to be a little better…can you?"

"You were all set to kill her with me," Draco pointed out.

"I was…but I came to my senses. You didn't."

"Fine, fine. I'm going to go get these things off. You and Hermione can head down to breakfast. I'll meet you in History."

"You sure?" Draco nodded. "All right then. Make sure you stop by the hall for some food though…you don't want to starve."

"Skipping one meal isn't going to kill me," Draco said, rolling his eyes. And that said, he shut the door to his room.

About twenty minutes later, Harry and Hermione had finished their meal (Harry's consisting of a blueberry bagel and a cup of milk and Hermione having a doughnut, a few apple slices, and her orange juice) and were settling into the History of Magic class.

Draco arrived seconds before the bell rang, dressed in his black robes with Sparkles sticking out of the pocket and his bag of books. "Wake me when this is over," he whispered, before placing his head on the desk and promptly falling asleep.

Harry looked at him open mouthed. He was no good at taking notes…he'd be sleeping in a few minutes. '_Make that seconds,' _his mind yawned as Binns began the lesson, his monotous voice droning on about a troll rebellion.

Both were awoken two hours later by Hermione, who informed them the lesson was over, she'd taken notes if they'd like them and that they were going to be late to Charms.

"Hey, Hermione?" Harry asked after the Charms lesson, which fortunately wasn't as disastrous as the last one. "Would you like to visit the library after lunch?"

"A library! There's one here! Can I really go?"

"Sure, if you promise to be quiet while you're there. Mrs. Pince doesn't like a lot of noise."

"Who's she?"

"The librarian."

"Oh," Hermione responded wisely.

The three ate a quick lunch, Draco still avoiding Hermione, and made their way up to the library. Both teenagers took a table and pulled out homework, leaving Hermione, eyes wide with excitement, to browse.

"There's so many books here," Hermione whispered, staring in amazement at the hundreds of shelves and cases. "What should I look at first?"

Over a few minutes, she'd selected a large number of books. "I wonder what that roped off area is," she mused. Looking around for anyone and seeing no one, she slipped under the rope and went to examine the books. Picking a random one off the shelf, she flipped it open.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" screamed the book, Hermione screaming with it. Throwing it, the book slammed into the shelf and the entire thing wobbled, this being a more rickety bookcase then most.

It slowly teetered back and forth, before deciding to finally fall. Hermione covered her eyes as it crashed into the shelf behind it, a domino effect created in a matter of seconds.

Students yelled in panic and dove out of the path of the falling cases and raining books. Hermione crept over to Harry and Draco and acted innocent, her stack of books on a chair next to her.

In a few minutes, it was all over. Every case had been knocked down, dust from some of the more ancient manuals wafting up in the air and choking everyone.

"Who did this?" Mrs. Pince asked dangerously, stepping into the middle of the room. "Speak up!"

No one answered.

"Maybe…maybe it collapsed by itself," suggested a tiny Gryffindor. "Some of the cases were really old."

The librarian sniffed disdainfully. "I doubt that. I will be running a magic check on the library for any collapse or demolishing spells. If I find traces of it in the air, I know who to look for. Now, all of you scat so I can fix this mess."

"I wonder who did it," Harry pondered as they left the library and joined the throng of students down the steps and outside. Hermione kept silent, a smile playing over her lips. "Well Mione, what'd you think of the library while we were there?"

"It's very big. And there was a lot to read…can we go back when it's all cleaned up?"

"Sure," Harry said.

The rest of the afternoon passed quietly, a Transfiguration lesson finishing up the classes for the day. Hermione was too immersed in a book on plants that Neville let her borrow to cause any mischief, much to the thanks of McGonagall who had not in the slightest forgotten her last encounter with the child.

Dinner changed all that.

"Hey, Hermione!" Lavender bubbled. "Ron and Terry said it was okay if it was okay with your guardians."

"Great! I'm sure it is!"

"What's okay with us?" Draco asked warily.

"Can we have a sleepover? Pretty please with a toothbrush on top?"

"We'll come to supervise too," Ron said, sitting down next to Draco at the Gryffindor table.

"I guess it'd be all right then," Harry said slowly, his voice drowned out by Hermione and Lavender's squeals.

"Let's invite Blaise too!" Hermione suggested.

The four guardians exchanged looks. Would that really be such a great idea?

"Yay! Let's!" Lavender jumped off her chair and ran over to the Slytherin table, where Pansy and her group were sitting.

"He said yes! And Neville said he'd come too! Pansy said she wasn't going to…she's not going anywhere near Draco. The spots are starting to fade though."

And that's how Draco and Harry found themselves with three wild children (well, two actually. Blaise was extremely quiet) and three friends (who's company they found much more enjoyable).

The evening passed quietly, the teenagers all playing Exploding Snap and the children coloring, talking, playing patty-cake, petting and chasing Butterscotch, or trying to tempt Crookshanks out from underneath the cabinet.

"I've never seen him laugh this much," Harry commented, looking at Blaise.

"It's nice to see," Neville agreed. "Hermione, strangely enough, is a good influence on him."

"Do you think it's time for them to go to bed yet?" Draco asked. "It's almost midnight."

Ron yelped. "We have classes tomorrow! They should have been in bed ages ago!"

The children were dumped in baths, stuffed in sleeping bags (Hermione in the middle, Blaise on her right and Lav on her left) and given good night kisses and hugs. The guardians flopped out all over the place. Draco went back to his bed and Harry to his. Ron took the couch and Neville the armchair. Terry took Hermione's bed.

Waking up was the hardest. The students fought like animals for the shower (all ready to break the door down when Draco took a half an hour shower) and getting dressed was a mess.

"Has anyone seen my robes?" Ron yelled, digging through a random pile of items on the floor.

"I can't find my socks!" Terry hollered.

"Who took Sparkles?" Draco demanded.

Hermione giggled.

"Give it back!"

"I lost my fourth Rembrall," Neville stated, looking under the couch.

"GIVE ME BACK SPARKLES!"

"Did someone take my toothbrush?" Harry asked, exiting the bathroom. "I cant' find it."

"Found my robes!" Ron shouted triumphantly. "No, wait. These are Neville's."

"Then I think I'm wearing yours…" The boys switched.

"I MEAN IT HERMIONE!"

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!"

"You stepped on my foot!" cried Lavender, glaring at Terry. "Watch it!"

"Do you need help rolling your sleeping back up, Blaise?" Ron asked, kneeling down next to the little boy. Blaise nodded and Ron obliged.

"HERMIONE JUST BIT ME!" wailed Draco, clutching his arm.

"NEXT TIME DON'T TAKE MY DRAGON!"

"IT'S MINE!"

Finally, they were ready to go. All eight of them piled down at the Gryffindor table and Harry grabbed the orange juice pitcher for Hermione.

In the middle of breakfast, Hermione stood on top of her chair. "Ah hem!"

No one paid the slightest bit of attention.

"I HAVE AN ANNOUCNEMENT TO MAKE!"

That quieted everyone. They were now quite used to the strange child, and after the day before they were ready to listen to anything she might find interesting.

"Why do I have a feeling she's about to say something bad?" Harry muttered.

"No idea," Ron shrugged. "Maybe she wants to talk about the sleepover."

Ron was wrong and Harry was right. For what Hermione said was:

"I HAD SEX LAST NIGHT!"

**Author's Notes:**

Don't really have time to talk. Leaving for a party any minute. What I do have to say is this.

One, dedication to the last line and sleepover idea goes to BlackAliss! Yay! -claps-

Two, I've started a new novel. If you'd like me to send you the first chapter, please write the word **ploofle **in your review and leave your email in the space that says email OR leave it asa signed review. When you get it, comments would be wonderful! Send it your request to get it before Wednesday, I'm sending it out then.

Three, I got a job! -cheers- I have to wait for my drug test results first though...I don't really have reason to worry though :P

Four, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I was so excited you all liked the last part so much! As always, reviews appreciated! They feed the authoress!


	36. Hermione's a Teacher!

**Disclaimer: Hakuna Matata, what a terrible phrase! Hakuna Matata is (hopefully) a passing craze! It means watch out, because Hermione's here! It means duck and dive, and close your eyes…Hakuna Matata! Hakuna Matata, it also means. Hakuna Matata signifies HP. It means that Icy… can't claim HP…Hakuna Matata.**

**(Thanx for the suggestion apparateawayhp13!)**

**Parenting Class**

**Hermione's a Teacher!**

Dead silence met Hermione's announcement. Draco froze. His spoon full of oatmeal that was raised halfway to his mouth hovered in the air, bits of the brown stuff falling off as it shook.

Neville, who'd been pouring himself a glass of milk continued to do so, the drink overflowing the cup and soaking into the tablecloth, not that anyone took any notice.

Harry, who'd been expecting something terrible but not knowing what, placed his head on his arms and tried to decide the easiest way to vanish. He could apparate…but as Hermione said, you can't do that in Hogwarts and he didn't know how to either. Maybe one of Fred and George's Vanishing Capsules…but he didn't have any with him. His invisibility cloak? Upstairs in his room…

Ginny covered her mouth to hold in laughter, the result an odd sounding sort of snort. She didn't know why it struck her as so funny… But at least she couldn't be blamed at all and had no need to feel embarrassed. After all, _she _wasn't watching Hermione.

Across the room, Pansy fell off the bench, a napkin stuffed in her mouth to muffle her giggles, and rolled around on the floor, bumping into the bench with a loud thud.

At the head table, Dumbledore had a smile tugging on his face, although he fought to remain serious. Snape was glaring at Hermione and Harry, dubbing it their fault for the declaration. McGonagall had her teacup to her lips, to hide her growing grin.

Next to Neville, Blaise tugged on his guardian's robes. "What's sex?" he asked softly.

That broke the dam. Students roared in laughter, Ginny banging her fists on the table and upsetting the milk pitcher. Mrs. Norris, clearly frightened by the noise (which was sounding more and more like a gigantic battle cry) ran from the room, Filch right behind her.

"How is my announcement funny?" Hermione frowned, plopping back down on the bench and picking up her glass of orange juice.

"What is it?" Blaise repeated, looking up at Neville. The boy, however, merely covered his eyes and began to laugh.

"He's going crazy," Draco commented, nodding at Neville, who was now rocking back and forth.

"Can you blame him?" Terry muttered. "I should be going crazy too…"

"One of you is enough," Harry moaned.

Blaise sidled over to Hermione. "What is it?" he asked again.

"It means that we slept together," she grinned.

"We did?"

"Uh huh. Sex is when two people around the same age of different genders sleep together. And you slept with me last night!"

"I did?"

**Flashback: 3:26 AM**

"Move over," Hermione whispered, pushing Blaise to the far right of his sleeping bag.

"W-what?" he yawned, rolling over to let Hermione in. "Hermione? What are you doing?"

"I want to have sex," she said, snuggling down next to him and dragging her pillow from her own sleeping bag. "That's okay, right?"

Blaise didn't answer. He'd fallen asleep.

"Silence is always taken as a yes," she said. "Night, Blaise."

**6:30 AM**

Sitting up in bed, Hermione looked around the silent common room. Well…almost silent. Ron was snoring like a bulldozer on the couch. It was amazing anyone was even able to fall asleep.

Hermione smirked and patted Blaise on the head. He had fulfilled her requirement. Hopping up, she made her way into the bathroom.

**End flashback**

"I forgot about that," Blaise admitted. "So that's what sex is?"

"Well, that's what Harry and Draco told me. And they wouldn't lie."

By now the din in the Great Hall was beginning to die down and everyone looked expectantly at Harry and Draco. "Why are they looking at us?" Harry whispered.

"Because they want us to explain."

"Oh. You do it."

Draco cleared his throat and stood up on the bench. "Harry would like to make an announcement," he said proudly, before taking his seat once more.

"You…you," Harry sputtered, pointing his finger at Draco.

"Slytherin," Draco smirked.

Harry, muttering curses under his breath, rose to face the crowd. "Umm…well, you see…um…Hermione…she…"

Draco groaned and pulled Harry back down. "What he's trying to say," Draco said, taking Harry's place, "is that he told her that it, sex, meant sleeping together. As in, what the definition sounds like with nothing else implied. She had some of her friends over for a sleepover last night…I can only assume that's why she said this."

"So she didn't…"

"No," Draco snarled at the Slytherin who had dared implied it.

McGonagall, finally regaining control of herself, stood and tapped her spoon smartly on her glass. "Your attention please," she said, a twinkle still in her eye. "I understand that all of you would like to stay and talk, but classes do start in two minutes."

Her proclamation was greeted with a flurry of activity and panic.

"TWO MINUTES!" Terry screeched, shoving a last orange slice in his mouth. "fWhere'd the time go?"

"It was spent laughing at us," Neville said miserably. "We have Transfig next, right?"

"Yeah, and we'd better get going," Harry said, throwing his bag over his shoulder and grabbing Hermione with one arm, the child protesting as her half finished doughnut fell from her fingers.

"We'll bring it with us," Draco said, sensing that Hermione was about to yell. Wrapping the pastry in a napkin, the Slytherin tucked it in his robe pocket and grabbed his own stack of books.

The small group, consisting of Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Terry, Lavender, Blaise and Pansy, who refused to walk next to Draco, made their way down the hall at a sprint, bowling over students who got in their way. Guess it really wasn't so small…

"Sorry!" Harry yelled as a huddle of Hufflepuffs were knocked down by Draco, who was leading the pack and didn't even look to see who was in his way.

Breathless, they arrived at McGonagall's door and rushed in, just as the bell rang behind them. "We made it!" Ron cheered, flopping into a desk. "Halfway across the castle in two minutes! It must be a record!"

"The official record, Mr. Weasley, is one minute and six point four seconds," McGonagall said, entering from her office and passing by the redhead.

"You actually timed it?" Terry asked, mouth agape. "Why?"

"Back in the day, Hogwarts held all kinds of races and events to keep the students in top notch condition. This race, from the Great Hall to my room was a favorite and so was from the Great Hall to the trapdoor of Sibyll's."

"Why don't we hold that kind of thing anymore?" Pansy asked, smoothinfg down her hair.

"There was no open space in the curriculum. But perhaps I could speak to Albus for next year… We could have an actual class for exercise."

Neville paled as McGonagall made her way up to the front of the room, a thoughtful smile on her face. "I don't like that sort of thing," he said nervously, wringing his hands together.

"If she's talking about a gym class, I agree with Neville," Harry said. He could still remember one of his P.E. classes…

**Flashback: Kindergarten**

"All right, line up on the white line," barked a tall, rather heavyset woman, a whistle in her mouth. "Hurry up you lot!"

Little six-year-old Harry scrambled to find a spot in line, which happened to be the very end. The teacher, Mrs. Wiegel, went down the row, counting off by ones and twos. Harry was a two.

"Now, twos in the outfield and ones up at bat." Harry, giving the safety of the kicking box a last, final glance, trotted off to join his classmates on the blacktop.

Kickball was a favorite game of the children at Harry's grade school. And their teacher, Mrs. Todd, was very fond of the sport and loved it when her students wanted to play it. However, the friendly P.E. teacher was out sick with a cold and Mrs. Wiegel had taken her place.

With almost inhuman speed, the substitute rolled the ball towards the kickers. It bowled the child right over. "TOMMY!" screeched his twin, falling beside her brother. "DON'T DIE!"

"Take him to the nurse," Mrs. Wiegel commanded. "If you can't keep up, out you go."

The next kicker managed to hit the ball and it soared in the air. Harry ran beneath the growing shadow, his hands outstretched.

_WHAM!_

It collided solidly with his face and Harry fell down from the force, his glasses, that'd he gotten that year, knocked askew.

"Are you okay?" asked one of his teammates, bending down and picking up Harry's glasses. In Kindergarten, Dudley had had no influence on Harry's classmates yet and none were scared to be nice.

"I'm fine," Harry said, woozily sitting up, a large red mark covering most of his face.

A few minutes later, his team went up to the kicking box. Harry was the third kicker, the previous two having been knocked out with Mrs. Wiegel's wild throws. Taking a deep breath, Harry readied himself.

The ball game, bouncing down the blacktop, a vibrant speck of red. It came closer. And closer.

And then the only thing Harry saw was black.

**End flashback**

"Definitely no P.E.," Harry shuddered.

"P.E. is fun!" Terry argued. "There are a lot of sports. And warm-ups are the best! Back in fourth grade, before I came to Hogwarts, we'd get to jog half a mile around the school! It was awesome!"

"You're one of those gym freaks," Harry argued. "The athletic people who _like _to do that sort of stuff."

"Yup."

"I hate to sound stupid, but what is P.E.?" Ron asked, Draco, Pansy, and Neville all nodding along with him.

"It stands for Physical Education," Harry shuddered. "Muggle schools have it. It's bad…very bad and dangerous."

"Professor McGonagall is talking," Hermione whispered, poking Harry to make him shut up. "Be quiet! I can't hear!"

The group quieted down before the teacher scolded them for talking and pulled out textbooks.

"-isn't as difficult as most, but caution is to be exercised. Please come up to the front of the room and select a ferret."

Draco, who'd been taking a sip from his water bottle, choked.

"But we already have one," Ron grinned, pointing at Draco.

"You don't look like a ferret," Hermione observed.

"It's an old joke," Harry laughed. "Back in our fourth year, Draco got turned into one by a professor here."

"And it's not a funny one," Draco scowled.

"I'll get it!" Hermione squealed, running to the front of the room and arriving back with a solid black ferret. "Isn't she cute?"

"I thought Draco looked much better," Pansy smirked, patting him on his head. Seeing Draco's frown deepen she said with a chirpy air, "Just kidding!"

"What are we supposed to do?" Neville asked, prodding his own brown ferret. "Did anyone listen?"

"I did!" Hermione exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "But…I'm not telling."

"Oh, come on Hermione. Please tell us," Harry begged.

"Only if I can have my doughnut."

"Give her the doughnut," Harry commanded. Draco took it out of his pocket and handed it to Hermione, who happily chewed it. "Now, what do we do?"

"Turn to page seventy-one and follow the instructions," Hermione said, taking another bite of her pink sprinkle doughnut.

The group did so and read the directions. "We're turning them into binoculars," Draco announced.

"But you will turn them back to ferrets when you're done, won't you?" Hermione asked tearfully.

"I don't think so," Harry said slowly.

A gleam entered Hermione's eye and Harry gulped. She got that look whenever her older self talked about S.P.E.W.

"Hermione, you can't change the ferrets back into ferrets," Draco said gently.

"Yes, I can! You can't just leave them like that! They're living creatures! And they deserve to have freedom! Who says they have to stay as a fixed object?"

"The teachers," Terry said.

By now, Hermione's rant had bought the attention of the other students and even McGonagall.

"Why do we condemn them to a life of misery when they could be free?" she continued. "Are they not part of our earth? Our world? Without them we wouldn't be the society we are today!"

"She does have a small point," Neville said softly. "It is kind of mean that we transfigure them."

"Kind of! You're wrong there! It's animal abuse! We neglect them for our own enjoyment! How do we know that the transformation doesn't hurt them? What do we know about these poor animals?"

"Miss Granger, please calm down," McGonagall instructed. The child, in her argument, had picked up her group's ferret and was using it to jab at various people to make her point. "There are certain laws on the animals we have here."

"What kind of rules?"

"The animals, as a known fact, don't feel anything during the transformation. It was part of a program many years back by an animal right activist. And all the animals we use have their minds cleared as soon as the spell is performed so they won't be stuck thinking when they can't move. If the countercharm is applied, then the animal regains his memory."

"But it's still mean to transform them. What if they don't want to be an object?"

"They don't really have a choice in the matter there, Miss Granger. I can assure you though, that Hogwarts does free its animals so that they can be used the next year."

"Oh." Hermione adopted her thinking face. "I guess that's all right then."

Grateful that the debate was solved, Harry and Draco began to read the material while Hermione wandered over to Lavender. "Are you as bored as I am?"

"More so," Lavender sighed. "Terry won't let me hold the ferret…he's afraid it'll bite me."

"Oooh, who's that?" Hermione asked, pointing at a girl who had just walked into the room and up to McGonagall's desk, a note in her hand.

"I don't know her."

McGonagall nodded and spoke with the girl, before taking the note. The girl left.

Hermione and Lavender watched the professor as she read the letter.

"Excuse me, class," she said. "I have to leave for a few minutes. Can I trust you to behave?"

Nods and soft replies of 'Yes, Professor' could be seen and heard.

"If anything is wrong, I will deduct house points." The woman swept from the room a minute later.

"I know something to liven the class up!" Hermione grinned. "Draco and Harry use some language they tell me not to repeat. Well, why don't I teach it to everyone?"

"But if they told you not to say it, then why are you?"

"Because they told me not too," Hermione smirked. "Do you want to go round up some of the other kids?"

"Sure! I'll meet you at the front of the room."

The group the two girls managed to round up consisted of themselves, the Patil twins, Gregory Goyle, and Susan Bones. "Okay everyone," Hermione grinned, picking up a piece of chalk. "I'm here to teach you some vocabulary that our guardians like to use."

"Will it have any bad words?" Susan asked.

"I think they're all bad words."

"Awesome!" Parvati and Padma chorused.

"Okay, first word," Hermione grinned, writing it on the chalkboard. "All of you line up in a…well, a line. When I point to you, read the letter that follows after the one the person in front of you read, okay?"

"Huh?" asked Goyle, picking at his nose.

"You'll get the hang of it," Hermione assured. "I'll start. B!" She pointed the stick of chalk at Parvati.

"A!"

"Your turn, Padma."

"S!"

"Gregory?"

"Uh…"

"Nope, wrong letter. Does anyone know it?"

"T!" Parvati cried, bouncing up and down.

"That's right, good job," Hermione praised. "Lav?"

"A!"

"Susan?"

"R!"

"Okay, Greg. Do you know the last letter?"

"Anyone know the last letter?"

"D!" Lavender supplied.

"Great job! Does anyone know how to pronounce it?"

All of them shook their heads.

"Do you know what it means?"

Again, heads were shaken.

"First things first. It's an insult. It's what Harry called Draco one time. I guess it's pretty bad because Harry got all upset when he realized he said it. The word is bastard. Bass-turd. Say it with me."

"Bastard."

"Again!"

"Bastard!"

The students who'd been working quietly at their desks jerked up. "Hermione!" Harry scolded, going up to McGonagall's desk and prying the chalk from her hands. "We don't use that language in school!"

"But you did."

"That was a mistake. Now, apologize for causing a disturbance and go sit in the corner. Those are swear words…not things you should be repeating." Looking sternly at the other children he said, "That goes for you too. I don't want to hear that word again, understand?"

They all nodded solemnly and went to sit in the corner with Hermione. "That isn't exactly what I had in mind," Harry muttered.

"At least they're out of the way," Draco argued. "Just leave them. They're just talking…but really, see what a bad influence you have on her?"

"Me? You're the Slytherin, teaching her all those tricks."

"What tricks?" Draco asked innocently.

Harry coughed and tried to imitate Draco from earlier. "Harry would like to make an announcement. What the bloody hell was that?"

"That was me being a Slytherin. There's a reason I'm there and you're in Gryffindor, Harry. I'm mean…and you're nice."

"You're not all mean. You do have a good side. I mean…we've both come a long way. Just last year we were at each others throats and you were always trying to get me in trouble. And now, we're on a first name basis, we actually _help _each other out, and we both have the job of looking after a miniature demon."

Draco nodded, tapping his wand on the desk. "We have, haven't we? It's…almost nice in a way. You're not as bad as I thought you'd be. Guess I'll have to thank Dumbledore someday for putting us all in a group."

"Shall we get back to nailing this ferret?" Harry asked, indicating the ferret they'd been working on. It's head had the lenses of binoculars but the rest of it was still fur. "It's times like these I really wish that Hermione wasn't…that she was here." Draco wholeheartedly agreed.

Back in the corner, Hermione was conducting lessons again. "This is a word Draco used," she said, pointing at the paper. "Although I honestly don't see what's wrong with it."

"Bird," Susan read. "No…that's a normal word. I mean, there are birds that fly, right?"

"Right," agreed Lavender. "I wonder why he used that one."

Hermione shrugged. "Do you guys want to move on?" Nods. "Okay. This next one is a phrase. Ron uses it a lot."

"Can I guess?" Lavender giggled. "Bloody hell?"

"That's it!" Hermione grinned. To the rest of her students she said, "We've deemed that this phrase is used when something really strange happens, or when the person who says it is mad. Repeat after me. Bloody hell!"

"Bloody hell!"

"Again!"

"Bloody hell!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?"

The room silenced immediately, the children's words dying from their lips. The students in the class were looking horrified at the group, especially since Harry had already told them off.

"All of you, detentions tonight," McGonagall said, her nostrils flaring in anger. "In all my years as a teacher at Hogwarts, I've _never _seen such outrageous behavior. And none of you did a single thing to stop it."

"But we-"

"No buts, Mr. Potter. I'll see you all, including children, here at eight sharp tonight. If you're late, I'll deduct even more points. Speaking of which…"

The Transfig professor scanned the room, counting students from houses. "Fifty points from Gryffindor, sixty from Slytherin, forty from Hufflepuff, and fifty from Ravenclaw."

"Professor, you can't take away our points!" cried Pansy. "We should all get the same amount taken away! That's not fair!"

"Leave it!" shouted Ernie, who was happy with the deduction.

"Quite right, Miss Parkinson. Even if there are more Slytherins in here, it's all equally everyone fault. Sixty total from each then."

"But I don't want to go to detention!" Hermione wailed.

"Too late for that, Miss Granger. I'll see you all at eight tonight. No exceptions."

_BOOM!_

Neville's ferret flew up and through the ceiling.

"Ten more points," McGonagall growled. The bell rang before anymore damage could be done.

The students raced for the door, ferrets being flung into the box, some half transformed and unable to see or walk. One thought was on all the minds of McGonagall's sixth year Transfiguration class.

What the bloody hell were her detentions like?

**Author's Notes:**

Wow. I didn't think I was going to get this up. After all it is Father's Day...which means I have to say: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you dads out there! And those of you who are reading this, make sure to get up and give your dad a HUGE hug! That's where I was all day today; celebrating Father's Day at my Grandpa's house.

Several things about the novel. One, many of you didn't get it even though you asked. The reason is that either your e-mail didn't work (and I know I typed it in correctly, I double-checked) and some of you had your settings so that you couldn't recieve attatchments. If you were one of the people who requested the chapter and didn't get it. Let me know. Send me an e-mail or leave it in a review; but make sure your **username is in it. I'll be examining it with the names I have saved. If you're not on that list, you don't get it. _If you want the chapter and you asked, you must reply before ten p.m. on Tuesday night, Central time. _**

For some reason, on the last batch I was awfully nice. I specifically requested that you send in the 'ploofle' before Wednesday night. Yet, I was still getting some today! So please, if you want it **and already asked **send me a review/e-mail with the correct address in it. If you left a signed review but you didn't have an e-mail listed on your profile, send me your address.

I was originally thinking of letting you all readchapter two (which I'm working on) but after this incident, it'll be no way. :P And a huge thank you to those of you who sent me back feedback and grammar/spelling corrections. It really helped a lot! For those of you who didn't reply, I at least hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'll let you know if it ever gets published so you can buy it.

On to more news. I got a job! n.n I'm working at Target as a cashier at the second, although I'm supposed to be on Sales Floor. Either way, this means that it's going to be really hard for me to update. I **might **move updates to every **two weeks. **I'll let you know my final decision next week.

A huge thanks to the reviewers! These wonderful people are:

Miranda, QuietWorld, Roberta, Skater Girl Katy, TheScarlettSecret, ANONYMOUS, Chantal J, MAGIC62442, CareBearErin, brownlow-babe, greenfly, FaeRie Fire, xoKaSsIeox, Tinaton aka Blat, nilepharaohess, sakura1221, Lauren, KatiePhantom, Mithlond88, blravenclaw101, wockygal, Friday13, cuznhottie, samhaincat, Airalynn, Blackrosebunny, The Horns Hold The Halo Up, BlackasNightColdasDeath7, knockout2, AnonymousHatred, ilovetom88, Star, ThePhantomRoarer, hplucky, CherryBlossomAngel-225, ShadesOfFire, Sayaku-chan, StarQueen456, Katie, hermionerocks2008, Catherine Lump, Fire-Pack, BIGHARRYFAN, LiLbLueangeL1223, tatina180, PopcornPotter818, Dusty Brown, Me, hottennispro88, Kat, MarliS, epona9009, BlondeGal123567, LaxGoalie, mindy, charmed sisters, mizzlilme, dan-lovr, StarDust002, T.C4H.P, Kylria, Ginny-W13, anonymous, Jen, Eliot Z. Wheatherbee, blaisezabiniismine, Moon-Pixie00, Ali, The Stump, IY-ROX, melisse, HazyDayClearNight, DisguisedInnocence, draco's gurl, Serlene, MoosiesRule, LuckyGirly, cierra, Still Can't Find What Keeps Me Here, scottishbabe110, Sweet As Butterbeer, summeryice, Chinese Miko, OrangeCrush87, Shep, redneck chick, demongirl12000, HgBookworm, Keitorin Asthore, Emma-Lizzy-Black, Shalaren, TrueLove53, Jade-eye Halliwell, Lady-Crymsyn, Sytherin-Princess!Matt, rani singala, chandramukhi, Ellie, simplyme89, Sk8eRgIrL1990, MissDitzy, tigerlily727, XadraineMalfoy, Emily, apparateawayhp13, Smoogle145, Sasqwish, who cares, Rebell, ChibiIceDemon, stbqt, cenagurl, Alenor, Chorin, Tasha, Laendra, Jocelyn Padoga, Lillian-is-fickle, XanDutch, Celestia Memora, greenhairedfreak, skysongscry, Laen, Nachzes Black-Rider, Willow Evenstar, blond2themax, Alixandra, YamiClara, elana0012, cArnivor, cheekyangelkisses, Aconite Snape, phoenixtamer150, lilithofunderworld, Serpentgirl16, RenegadeMustang, Claire, Miranda, MeLiO, blu HP angel, loaf, oiseau de feu, Aquafairy, j13, Kiwi-San, Bookworm1214, deadly-summer41, ultra-violet-catastrophy, Moghedien17, Steelo, pink-helga, sexgoddessmisha4draco, Aubs, ClaireBear48, brokentears, kOu shunu, scarlet-knight13, Lost fallen angel, lilmissmolly, LeoGirl45, d/hg&s/yfan4lifeyamatoishida27, MegTao, batchick OF DOOM, ultra-violet-catastrophy, Maria Casey Weasley, saytheya, dotty, andPtrst

As always, reviews feed the authoress! The muse is still locked up. XD


	37. Detention With McGonagall

**Disclaimer: Icy's brain dead at the moment. XD So, simply said, she doesn't own Harry Potter in any way at all.**

**Parenting Class**

**Detention with McGonagall**

"But…but I've never had a detention before," Hermione sniffled, sitting on the couch with a box of tissues in her lap, and blowing her nose every few seconds. "Mommy and Daddy…they're going to be so upset when they hear about it."

"Detentions aren't bad," Draco assured her.

"Yes they are," she sobbed, pressing her face into a pillow. In a more muffled voice she said, "You get them for getting in trouble…I've never been in trouble before."

Draco and Harry raised eyebrows at the last comment, but kept quiet. "It'll be okay, Mione," Harry comforted, patting the girl's head. "Your parents don't even have to hear about it."

"They…don't?" Hermione slowly looked up from the pillow. "I don't have to…tell them?"

"That's right. At Hogwarts your parents won't hear about any detentions you get unless the headmaster deems it necessary to."

Hermione brightened. And then a second later, her face fell again. "But I still got in trouble. And I can't lie to Mommy and Daddy when I go back home…it isn't right."

"Well…if they don't ask then you don't have to lie," Draco smirked.

"But what if they do?"

"Then you're in trouble."

Hermione broke down crying again. "I…I don't even…even know…what I….I did wrong!" she wailed, pounding her fists into the pillow.

"You were teaching the other kids swear words," Harry informed.

"B-but…why…is that…a bad thing?"

"We aren't supposed to use those words," Draco explained. "They're bad and the teachers don't like to hear them. We only say them when there aren't any teachers nearby."

"And we shouldn't even do that," Harry interrupted before Hermione could get any ideas. "Words like darn or shoot are okay though."

"What about fiddlesticks?"

"A what stick?" Draco asked.

"That'd be okay," Harry clarified.

"What about muffins?"

"That'd work too."

"Fudge?"

"How many more words do you have?" Draco grumbled, snatching the pillow from Hermione and placing his head on it.

"Lots of words! Mommy uses them all the time. How about bah-humbug?"

"I'm pretty sure any words your mom uses will be all right to use here," Harry said tiredly, flopping down on one of the armchairs, Butterscotch jumping up on his stomach a moment later.

"What time is the detention at again?" Draco asked, closing his eyes to take a nap.

"Eight," Hermione said tearfully.

"And what time is it now?" Harry queried, also settling down for a nap.

"Seven fifty-nine."

"That's nice…" A few seconds pause. "DID YOU SAY SEVEN FIFTY-NINE?" Harry screeched, jumping to his feet, Butterscotch hitting the floor with a soft thump. "WE'RE LATE! WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT IN TIME!"

"Just kidding," Hermione grinned. "It's six thirty."

Harry looked absolutely livid, his face bright red and eyes stormy. "Draco," Hermione squeaked, climbing on top of Draco and then over him so she was between him and the back of the couch, "save me."

"Save yourself," the Slytherin replied, grabbing a blanket off the top of the sofa and pulling it over himself. "I'm trying to sleep."

"He's getting closer…"

"For the last time, let me sleep," Draco growled, wrapping an arm around Sparkles.

"DRACO!" Hermione screamed as Harry lunged. The Slytherin yelped as Harry slammed a fist into his face in his attempt to reach Hermione.

"GET OFF ME, POTTER!" Draco demanded, trying to catch Harry's fists so they would stop hitting him. But the Gryffindor took no notice, not even realizing it was Draco he was pummeling (which is actually a good thing since if he did hit Mione it'd be child abuse).

"FIGHT BACK YOU IDIOT!" Hermione shouted, pulling the blanket over her head and cowering with Sparkles in her arms.

Draco, although angry about Hermione's choice of words (namely calling him an idiot) did see some sense in her remark. He wouldn't be getting beat up so bad if he started to land some of his own punches.

"GO DRACO!" the child cheered, now peeping out from beneath the blanket since both boys were on the floor and not on the couch. "BEAT HIM TO A BLOODY PULP!"

But all too soon Hermione grew bored, her applause dying down to 'Yay…', and she jumped off the back of the couch and disappeared into Draco's room to find something to read…something that wasn't a fairytale. She wanted to learn and save the story for bed time. Neither boy noticed her, both still snarling in rage and trying to knock each other out.

Opening the Slytherin's trunk, Hermione tug through some of the texts and came out with a thick black folder, sheets of parchment scrawled with notes stuck inside. "Defense Against Dark Arts- The Three Unforgivables," Hermione read, studying the neat cursive. "Those sound interesting."

Going out into the common room, the girl passed by Harry and Draco, both of who were now fighting for control of Draco's wand, Harry's lying abandoned several feet away. With a shrug, Hermione went over, picked up the lonely wand, and disappeared into her bedroom.

Flopping down comfortably on her bed, Hermione propped up the parchment on her pillow and began to read.

_Defense Against Dark Arts- The Three Unforgivables_

_Tuesday, Sept. 18  
Draco Malfoy  
__D.A.D.A- Moody_

_CONSTANT VIGILANCE!_

_First spell- **Imperius Curse**_

_**- **The incantation is Imperio. _

_-Gives user the control over victim's actions. _

_-examples:_

_--Spider tap-dancing_

_--Pansy singing WAY too high (SHUT UP!)_

_--Blaise juggling (He can't do that!)_

Hermione paused in her reading. How was Blaise mentioned in Draco's notes if he was only five? Was it a different Blaise? Shrugging, she continued on.

_Second spell- **Crutacius Curse**_

_CONSTANT VIGILANCE!_

_-The incantation is Crucio_

_-Causes enormous amount of pain to victim. Can result in brain damage, memory loss, uselessness of limbs, etc. The longer it is placed on victim, the more prone he is to being permanently injured. _

_-To effectively use the **Crutacius Curse, **the caster of the spell must **want **to see the other person hurt. _

_CONSTANT VIGILANCE! (Would you stop saying that, you bloody bastard?) _A large smear of ink blocked out the rest of Draco's swearing, along with a small note from Moody for Draco to come to his office that night at seven for detention.

_-example:_

_--Spider being put under spell_

_Third spell- **Killing Curse**_

_-The incantation is Avada Kedavra _

_-Victim is dead on contact with spell. Green is the color of magic of the spell. No shielding charms can block this curse. Physical objects can as long as infused with magical properties._

_-Like **Crutacius Curse, **caster must want to see victim dead._

_-example:_

_--Moody killed spider_

_CONSTANT VIGILANCE, MALFOY! (ARGH! Quit singling me out!)_

"That one sounds interesting," Hermione mused, tapping Harry's wand thoughtfully against the page. "I don't think they'll really work though. I mean, why would Hogwarts teach this?"

A sudden idea struck the girl. "Draco knew I'd raid his stuff! He put this in here to trick me! That evil…" The beginning to her long rant broke off. She could get revenge. She could try one of these spells on Draco. After all, they didn't work. Grinning like a Cheshire Cat, Hermione exited her room and went back to the common room, where both boys were lying on the floor next to each other, a colorful array of bruises dotting their skin.

"Die…Malfoy," Harry panted, poking Draco lightly in the arm.

"No…you die," Draco returned, tapping Harry's leg with his foot. "I'll…never…surrender…"

"Then…I kill…you," Harry responded weakly, trying to poke Draco again but his hand misjudging the distance and tapping the carpeting.

Hermione hesitated with her wand. First off, she couldn't be _that _angry at Draco. Sure, he did plant the false information in his trunk for her to read, but he had saved her from Harry. He didn't deserve to be cursed. Harry did though, for being so mean to her just because she told him the wrong time. But she wasn't very mad at him…and the spell said she'd have to mean it.

Walking over to Harry, she kicked the boy lightly in his side. "Get up and face me, you coward," she commanded, the wand tucked behind her ear like a pencil.

Harry groaned and looked up at her blearily through his cracked glasses, one of the lenses decorated with thin lines of broken glass. "What?"

"I'm going to kill you for hurting Draco. Now stand up."

"Too…tired… Get me…up…tomorrow."

Growling, Hermione gave the Gryffindor another kick and then jumped on top of his stomach. Hopping off (after bouncing several times) she raced over to the window and drew 'her' wand.

By now, Harry had had enough. Scrambling to his feet and throwing off his glasses (even though he may as well be blind now it was better then accidentally getting glass in his eye) the boy advanced, anger glimmering in his eyes.

"Come on! Try and hit me!" Hermione taunted, standing her ground. She didn't want to be hit, but she needed a good reason to get mad at Harry.

Harry, still not quite comprehending that Hermione was only five (Draco's blow to his head seemed to have addled his understanding) charged, fists flying outward. But Hermione dodged and the boy only caught a handful of her hair, yanking it back and causing quite a number of strands to come out.

That was all Hermione needed.

"YOU RUINED MY HAIR! YOU WILL SUFFER!"

Draco, just regaining his wits, sat up and watched to see what Hermione would do. None expected what would happen next.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" A bright beam of green light shot from the end of the wand and straight towards Harry, his eyes widening in shock. A second later, he keeled over and fell to the ground, his eyes closed.

"HARRY!" Draco cried, sprinting to his fallen friend. Picking up his wrist, Draco felt for a pulse…there was none. Nor could he see the boy's chest moving up and down. He never happened to take into consideration that Harry was wearing an incredibly thick sweater and through the layers, you couldn't see or feel anything.

"Don't worry, he's alive. It's a fake curse that you made up to fool me," Hermione said, squatting down next to Harry's body.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, tears shining in his eyes though they refused to fall. "Avada Kedavra is a real curse. It really kills people. And you killed Harry."

"No…no I didn't. He…he's not dead. He can't be." But as Hermione took in Draco's face, the stillness of Harry, she finally realized what she'd done. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO! WAKE UP!" she sobbed, shaking Harry's shoulders. "WAKE UP!"

Draco hauled Harry to his feet and placed a levitating charm on him. "Come," he said softly to Hermione, the tears leaving his eyes and his face in a mask of calm. "We'll go see McGonagall."

Sniffling, Hermione followed, tucking Harry's glasses in her pocket. Neither noticed the dead fly sitting on Harry's sweater, its black body almost invisible against one of the navy stripes in the shirt, one of its legs hooked in the yarn.

By the time they reached the Transfiguration room, it was two minutes past eight. And when they walked in, McGonagall looked up from her desk where she'd been sitting and timing how long it'd take this group to make it. But the lecture she was going to give them fell from her lips as she caught sight of Harry, floating eerily still behind Draco.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Harry's dead. Hermione killed him," Draco whispered, refusing to look at the professor. "It was an accident…she didn't mean to."

"How?" was all the teacher asked, stepping out from behind her desk and approaching the hovering Harry.

"Killing curse," the Slytherin said softly. "She didn't think it would work."

"Miss Granger?"

The child flung herself at McGonagall, tears pouring down her cheeks. "I want Harry back!" she sobbed into the robes. "Bring him back!"

"Is he really…dead?" Ron said, disbelief evident in his voice. Was Draco playing a trick. But when Draco looked up to meet Ron's gaze, a single tear on his cheek, Ron knew the truth. Draco never cried. Never. And if he was doing so now… "No…," Ron gasped.

His eyes hardening he marched over to Harry and grabbed his best friend by the shoulders. "WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!" No movement. Ron paused for a second to think. "I'LL TELL GINNY YOU THINK SHE'S UGLY!"

"What? No! Don't do that!" Harry cried, coming to life in Ron's grip. The redhead screamed and backed away, and Draco's levitation charm faltered, dropping Harry to the ground. With a moan, Harry rose to his feet, just now feeling the effects of his fight with Draco. "What's going on?"

"Is he a ghost?" Terry whispered.

"Felt real enough to me," Ron shuddered, staring at Harry with a mixture of awe and fear.

"You died," Draco informed him. "And now you're alive again."

"I died?"

"I KILLED YOU!" Hermione wailed. "I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD WORK!"

"She hit you with the killing curse," Draco said softly. "I saw it. In the common room. Remember?"

Harry closed his eyes to think. He'd been chasing Hermione and trying to punch her ('_Bad Harry!' he scolded himself) _when he'd ripped out some of her hair. Hermione had yelled something at him and then shot a curse off of _his _wand. But right before the curse hit he'd seen a small black dot swim in front of his vision. Then everything went black.

"Hey! What's this?" Lavender asked, standing next to Harry and pulling something off of his shirt. "Ewww! It's a dead fly!"

"The fly must have flown in front of Harry and taken the curse," Draco realized.

"That must be the black dot," Harry confirmed, nodding his head.

"And then you fainted," Hermione grinned.

"But why didn't I feel a pulse?" Draco asked.

"He's wearing a sweater," Pansy pointed out. "Did you bother to roll up the sleeve?"

"…"

"Draco!"

"Sorry," the blond said sheepishly.

McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, if you'd please, take your seats and I'll explain your detention. Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy? I'll let you off this one time given the circumstances. Miss Granger, you as well but no more pulling stunts like that, understand?"

"Yes, Professor," Hermione said meekly. Turning to Harry, the girl gave him a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Harry hugged her back. "It's all right. But just do as McGonagall said, okay? Promise?"

"I promise," Hermione said sincerely.

Both quieted down as McGonagall went to the front of the room. "Your job is simple. I want this room and my office cleaned top to bottom. Books alphabetical on the shelves by subject, all the supplies organized, chairs and desks cleaned and gum scraped off. No one will touch any of my things or you will receive more punishment. Any questions?" The class shook their heads. "Very well. Oh, and no magic. So please, bring your wands up to the front of the room. Mr. Potter, bring your glasses up so I can fix them." (Hermione had given them back.)

"I trust that I don't have to be in the room with you when you're cleaning, do I? I'm hoping that as a class you'll help each other out. For if even one person does something wrong, the lot of you will be punished. I'll be back by ten…I hope this room is sparkling by then." With that, McGonagall swept from the room, wands in a box under her arm.

All the students turned to look at each other. "I'm not cleaning," sniffed Pansy. "That what House Elves are for."

"Me either," Draco said, putting his head on his arms. "I've done enough today. Speaking of which, anyone have ice? My eye's swelling shut."

"What exactly did happen to you two?" Ron asked, staring at the bruising Draco and Harry.

"We got in a fight," Harry muttered. "I don't really remember why though."

Draco shrugged. "Neither do I. Although I guess it doesn't really matter…but does _anyone _have ice?"

"Sorry," Pansy apologized. "I'd conjure you some but McGonagall took our wands."

"Which leads us back to our current problem. Who wants to clean what?" asked Terry. "And _everyone _has to help," he said, pointedly looking at Draco and Pansy.

"All the kids could wash down the tables, couldn't they?" asked Neville. "It isn't too dangerous."

"Good idea," Hannah congratulated. Turning to the kids she said, "Just take the bucket of water by McGonagall's desk and wash down the chairs and desks. If you find gum or a stain that won't come off, put one of these-" she held out a bag of bright red cloth circles that she used in her sewing- "on top of it and an older student will come around and assist you."

"I'll alphabetize the books," Neville said. "I don't think I can mess that up too much."

"I'll help you with that," Pansy said. "It sounds easy."

Pretty soon, jobs had been distributed to each student (Draco sulkily joining the cleaning crew for McGonagall's office and Harry placed as sweeper in the classroom) and they were hard at work.

"Can you imagine if Hermione were older right now?" Harry whispered to Ron as he swept past the redhead, who was shelving boxes. "She'd be using this to show that House Elves aren't needed."

"Let's hope she doesn't remember this," Ron replied.

"I'm pretty sure she will."

"Yeah," Ron sighed, pushing a crate full of rope to the far corner of the top shelf. "But we can hop-"

"FIRE! THERE'S A FIRE!" screamed Lavender, racing away from the desks. Indeed, flames were rapidly spreading across the wood, a knocked over candle the source of this damage.

"What do we do?" Pansy cried, running out of McGonagall's office. "We don't have our wands!" The students watched in horror as the flames continued to lick away the wooden desks and chairs, before beginning to prey on the floor and walls.

"We'll have to jump out the window," Harry said, crossing the room and pushing against the huge circular window behind McGonagall's desk. It didn't budge.

Black smoke was rapidly filling the room, making eyes water and throats close. "Drop to the ground!" shouted Hannah, pushing Ron down. "The air's cleaner nearer to the floor."

"I don't want to die!" Hermione cried, clinging to Draco and burying her face in his chest. Seconds later, her grip loosened and she fell limp against him.

"Break the bloody window!" Ron shouted, cradling a limp Lavender in his arms. "We have to get out!"

Neville passed a large silver candlestick to Harry, who was nearest to the window. Taking a deep breath of cleaner air, Harry stood up and smashed the object against the glass, his heart soaring when the beautiful sound of glass breaking reached his ears.

"Get the kids out first!" ordered Seamus, Padma unconscious on his back. "They're taking in too much smoke!"

"It's a fifty foot drop!" Harry shouted, looking at the ground below. "We'll die if we jump out."

"And if we stay here it's the same thing," Pansy said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Just jump! At least we have a chance."

"I'll go first with Mione," Draco volunteered, pulling off his robe and wrapping around Hermione so she wouldn't get cut by the broken glass. Climbing awkwardly onto the ledge next to the window, the Slytherin looked down. Flashing a confident smile at his friends, he ducked through, ignoring the stinging of the glass digging into his skin. And with a deep breath, he jumped.

"Don't watch," Hannah ordered. "Next group, go! We don't have time to think!" She was right. The fire was almost at McGonagall's desk and all the students were just behind it. Ron dove out the window with Lavender and Crabbe took Goyle.

Soon, only Hannah and Harry were left. "Together?" she asked, looking fearfully back at the fire.

"Why not?"

Taking each other's hands, they jumped, both closing their eyes tightly. Harry hit the ground first, Hannah falling on top of him. Above them, flames leapt out the window and against the night sky. They'd made it out just in time.

Harry shakily rose to his feet, beyond thankful he was alive. Nothing felt broken either. "You okay, Hannah?"

"I think my arm's broken," was her soft reply. "Pretty good considering the drop though."

"You two all right?" Draco asked, silver eyes glowing in the dark as he made his way over to the newest jumpers.

"Yeah…but Hannah busted her arm. How's everyone else?" Harry asked, anxiously trying to make out the forms of his classmates.

"All alive and not too hurt," Draco smiled. "Ron broke both legs, Terry's got a broken wrist, and everyone has lots of bumps and bruises."

"You don't," Hannah observed. "Except the ones from earlier."

Draco's grin lighted up the area around them. "A Malfoy always lands on his feet. Come on, we're getting away from the building in case it collapses."

Harry's jaw dropped as he followed Draco, helping Hannah along. "On your feet? You managed to land on your feet!"

"That's right."

Wand light to their left caused the whole class to look up as McGonagall and Dumbledore came rushing across the grounds.

"Are you all here?" McGonagall asked breathlessly, trying to take a headcount in the dark.

"We're all fine," Seamus said, coming over with Padma clinging to his leg. On Neville hung Blaise and Lavender and Pansy had Hermione, all of which were awake.

The Transfig professor levitated those who couldn't walk (like Ron) and the whole class made their way to the hospital wing, while Dumbledore doused the fire from the ground.

About an hour later, a soot stained Draco, Hermione, and Harry were heading back for their rooms, McGonagall's lecture still ringing in their ears.

"_A week's worth of detentions!"_

"_Outlandish!"_

"_A candle!"_

"_My office is ruined!"_

But all of the students could tell that despite McGonagall's anger, she was truly relieved and thankful that broken bones were the worst students were suffering. It was her way of showing she cared…not that any of the students particularly liked it.

As soon as Hermione had been tucked in bed (for once going without a fuss) Draco and Harry flopped down on the couch and pulled out their homework that they hadn't managed to do. But their minds weren't focused on homework. They were just wondering.

Just wondering how much more they could take.

**Author's Notes:**

And here's chappie 37! This was the last little Mione chapter I'm afraid. Many of you seemed to be tiring of her (-sniffle-) so since I do what's in the public interest, she's done now. Next chapter will be a speed bump chappie (That's what I call the summary of the last few days of their childhood) and Hermione turning back to herself.

One thing. Someone hacked my account. The stupid idiot fortunately put my password back as one of my old ones I used to use. If you read any other stories or go back and reread chapters of this one, let me know if you see anything bad or out of place. Like me saying things I never said. The text messed up…etc. I don't have time to go through all 14 of my fics and look. Although I did reread My Hero and that one's fine.

And a final note. Vianecita-Malfoy is kindly translating PC into a Spanish version. And it looks to be pretty well liked over there too! The link is below! Just put a . where it says (dot)

fanfiction (dot) net/s/2461947/1/

Please do review! They feed me and the muse (who is at work right now and therefore out of her cage!)

And Happy Fouth to those of you who celebrate it!

A gigantic thank you to my wonderful reviewers! THANK YOU!

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	38. It's Over

**Disclaimer: The end is nearing, the day is almost done. Soon, very soon, there will be no more sun. But a moon will rise over the hill. And Icy will write a sequel, that she will. So be patient, enjoy the last day. And just remember, Icy doesn't own HP in any way.**

**Parenting Class**

**It's Over**

Harry and Draco found out they didn't just wonder how much more they could take. They experienced it. And it wasn't very pleasant. Unlike when they'd been kids and the last few days had flown, the days with Hermione crawled.

Over the course of the week Hermione continued to wreak havoc and horror on the school (of course not intentionally.) She just had a knack for mischief just as Draco had had an accident-causing gene and Harry had had a following Ron problem.

The little youkai had managed to destroy the Owlry. Which wasn't exactly her fault. Harry had taken her up with him to show her Hedwig while Draco slept in (he'd been up the whole night prior comforting Hermione after her nightmare of falling from the top of the castle).

But as luck would have it, Hermione had slipped on a large pile of owl droppings and crashed into one of the racks the owls sat on. The birds had squawked loudly in fear and taken flight, many crashing into walls in their need to escape. And as that rack toppled over, so did the one next to it, and the one next to it, etc.

And with the last rack having a huge momentum behind it, it had slammed into the wall next to the window and stone had crumbled away. And since there was no window to balance the frame, the whole section of stone had simply crumbled away and fallen to the ground below. And since that happened, the roof had no support and it caved in, dragging the back wall with it.

Harry had managed to get Hermione out of the Owlry just in time before they were both squashed. The hall to it was now blocked off and all the owls had taken to living in the coatroom off the Great Hall. It wasn't very pleasant…Filch was always handing out detentions now since he was in an incredibly bad mood. Who wouldn't be if they were always picking up owl droppings?

Lavender and Hermione had invented a new game during the week. They called it…P.A.C., which stood for Pointless Annoying Chatter. The goal of it was to talk see which of their four guardians caved first. Draco had, after an hour, with the line by Lavender: "Peanuts make pickle pie with pineapple pieces playing the piano on the side. Plums and peaches place potatoes on patios to-" That's where Draco had finally lost it and had used the silencing spell on Lavender…right in front of McGonagall. Two more detentions were added onto his growing list.

Last to go was Terry, who somehow managed to turn a partial deaf ear to the incessant rambling. But once Harry had dropped out of the race (on the second day during breakfast) he'd found it harder to ignore both of them. During Potions he'd finally screamed 'I GIVE UP' and was promptly issued a detention for disrupting the class.

Butterscotch was now quite docile…having been frightened into staying in Harry's room and away from Hermione. Ever since she'd covered the puppy in pads, Butterscotch was quite terrified that it'd happen again and had stayed away from his source of discomfort.

Blaise had begun to talk a little more. Little meaning that his nods turned into the word yes and his shakes turned to no's. He'd also started to join in a bit more of Lav and Mione's games…which the teenagers weren't sure was the safest thing. Thankfully it seemed that the girl's antics didn't rub off too much onto the little Slytherin and he remained calm and quiet.

Other various pranks that Hermione managed to pull on Harry and Draco consisted of setting the common room on fire (she'd accidentally pushed the rug into the fire place while she was chasing Crookshanks and had pulled it back out, not noticing the flames. The room had been filled with smoke in minutes and the three had to make a run for it. They were back to living in it again, although smoke damage and charred wood covered the place.

She and Peeves had formed an alliance for a single night and had successfully flooded the entire lower level of Hogwarts with…water balloons. Lots of water balloons. She was on Snape's death wish list for the next few days and the only reason she hadn't been killed was she'd hide behind Draco.

Draco took her flying over the week…and it didn't go so well. Both he and Harry were hoping to cure her fear of heights. Their plan backfired when Hermione fell off the broom in a dive and was in the Hospital Wing for a day being treated for a broken ankle. If anything, she was even more terrified now. And matters didn't fix themselves any when during a Charms class, a stray object Neville had gotten to fly through the air hit Hermione and sent her hurtling out the window. It wasn't far drop, but it was still a few feet.

Several good things did happen because of all of the dangerous situations Hermione managed to get herself and others into. For one, band-aids became a 'must have' item and students were always seen carrying them around.

The Weasley twin's Vanishing Capsules had also been a big hit. Whenever students saw Hermione coming, they immediately activated the powder and disappeared from sight.

The Hospital Wing was also now seen as a dangerous place instead of the safe haven everyone used to know. Because if Harry or Draco ended up in it due to one of their charge's pranks, you could bet Hermione would be there. And that wasn't a very comforting thought.

She'd also (this was her favorite prank!) managed to get her hands on some pink dye in the kitchens that the House Elves normally used for Valentine's Day cookies. And while Draco was taking a bath (yup, a bath. He'd injured his leg in flying earlier that day and felt like soaking it) she'd snuck into the bathroom and crept around Draco, who'd fallen asleep.

Dumping the bottle in, she'd been quite happy to see the water automatically turn pink and had crept just as quietly as she'd come in, out. When Harry shouted for Draco to get out of the bathroom, other people had to use it; Draco had woken up, ducked his head beneath the water to rinse it and hopped out. His screams had been heard a second later as he looked in the mirror. As it was, the dye didn't come out for two days and Draco had to live with being pink for the time.

And now, two weeks were up. It was five thirty A.M. on the morning of October seventeenth and both Harry and Draco were sitting on the couch and watching the portrait, praying McGonagall would show up soon. Very soon.

"What time did she come at when I was little?" Harry asked, suppressing a yawn.

"Around seven, I think. Maybe six-thirty. I don't really know."

Both lapsed back into silence, simply watching the clock hands move slowly around the face, wishing it would just go faster.

"It's six now," Harry said a while later. "She should be coming soon."

"Keep your voice down!" Draco hissed. "What happens if we wake her up?"

Harry switched to a whisper. "Good point. Well, it's six. I'm going to go get dressed. When I come back, you can go." Draco nodded his response and focused back on the clock. But the Transfig professor didn't show when during the time or when Draco got dressed.

"Where is she?" Draco growled softly, pacing around the common room. "Are we a day early or something?"

"No, we can't be early. We've been looking forward to this day since Hermione changed. And Mione even marked it on the calendar before she turned little…so it has to be right."

At that second the jester's voice cut through the early morning silence…the most beautiful sound Draco and Harry had ever heard. "Professor McGonagall is here. Shall I let her in?"

"Yes! Let her in!" Harry cried, jumping up and down excitedly. With a grin, Leviculus complied. The professor walked in the room, and was immediately greeted by two, very eager to get the potion, teenagers.

"We'll take that, Professor!" Draco said, swiping the red bottle from the woman's hand. "Thank you!"

"The whole school thanks you," Harry chimed.

McGonagall just nodded. "Make sure she drinks it. I trust to see you all at lunch." And the teacher left, leaving Draco and Harry with a new task: give potion to Hermione.

Both tiptoed into the child's room, where Hermione was sprawled out on her bed, her breathing even and peaceful. "You give it to her," Harry whispered. Rolling his eyes, Draco uncorked the bottle and raised to Hermione's lips, his other hand going behind her head and lifting it so she wouldn't choke. That's when Hermione made her move.

"HHIIIIIIIIIIII-YYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Her right foot connected solidly with Draco's jaw and she followed through with a swift punch to his stomach, before leaping to her feet and backing up against her headboard, fists raised.

"It hurts," Draco moaned, lightly touching his nose, which thankfully wasn't broken. "What you'd do that for, Hermione?"

The girl's mouth dropped. "What did I do it for? You just tried to poison me!"

"It's not poison," Harry said calmly.

"Then why were you trying to give it to me while I was sleeping?"

Draco sat up, the bottle in his hand, the potion still miraculously inside. "We know you wouldn't want to drink it, so we're giving it to you know. So drink it," he ordered, holding the bottle out for her to take.

"No," she said stubbornly. "You can't make me! I won't drink it!"

"You have to," Harry growled. "We can make you, but we don't want to."

"No."

In one swift movement, Draco had grabbed Hermione's ankle and pulled her legs out from beneath her, causing the child to hit the bed. He'd promptly scrambled up and sat on her stomach, his knees holding down her arms. Harry plugged her nose and waited her to open her mouth so he could dump the potion in.

"I'm going to have lots of bruises," Draco groaned, Hermione's feet pounding his back. "Why won't she open her mouth?"

"She's about to," Harry announced, seeing Hermione's struggles dying down as she lost oxygen. With a final shudder, the girl's mouth opened to breathe in some much needed air. That's when Harry dumped the potion in. Forcing her to swallow it, both boys sat absolutely still as the potion took effect.

Seconds later, a full grown Hermione lay sprawled out on the bed, and both boys heaved a sigh of relief. "It's over," Draco whispered.

"It's over," Harry repeated. And then, he started to laugh.

"What?"

"Don't you think that position is a little…oh, I dunno, awkward?"

Draco looked down. During the time they'd been getting Hermione to drink the potion, his hands had slid down to grip her arms, bringing his face just a few inches away from hers and he'd wrapped himself around her in a _very _suggestive manner.

"Not funny," he muttered, carefully climbing off, a light blush tinting his cheeks. Harry smirked at seeing the reddening Slytherin, but didn't mention it. Although he did go into the corner of Hermione's room as soon as Draco left and retrieved the camera he'd hidden right before they'd tried to change Hermione back.

"More evidence," he smiled, slipping it into his pocket. "Wonder what Ginny will make of it." And then he too strolled out into the common room, where he found Draco crying. Immediately he became panicked. Why was Draco crying? Wasn't switching Hermione back a good thing?

"Umm…why are you crying?" he asked pointedly.

"Tears of happiness," Draco sniffled.

Rolling his eyes, Harry sat down next to the Slytherin. "You want to head down to breakfast? Or stay up here?"

"I'm not really hungry," Draco replied, curling back up on the couch. "Tired though. But since I already got dressed it's a waste of time going back to bed."

"I thought you could sleep no matter what," Harry teased. "During class, standing up, on a broomstick, play-"

"Okay, fine. So I can sleep. But I've never done so on a broomstick." Harry snorted. "I haven't! But I'm not even that tired…just exhausted mentally. Although it should all be fixed in a few days…right?"

"Hopefully," Harry sighed, scratching Butterscotch (who'd come out of Harry's room when he realized that a little girl was no longer in the area) behind his ears. "How do you think Mione's going to feel about all this?"

"Very embarrassed and hopefully guilty," Draco said vehemently. "After all the pain and suffering we went through, she should have to too." Harry winced internally. This part wouldn't go over well with Ginny.

"You don't mean that, do you?" he asked.

Draco only nodded his head. "Every single word."

"Never realized you hated Hermione that much," Harry said off-handedly.

Draco faltered in what he was about to say. "I don't hate her," he finally said. "And I hope she doesn't feel too bad…just a little guilty."

"Do you like her?"

The Slytherin eyed Harry strangely, although the raven haired boy kept his face innocent and curious. "As a friend…yes, I do like her then."

Harry nodded. "That's all I was asking." _'DAMN! You were supposed to say you liked her the other way! Why am I doing this, Ginny? Why?'_

"What's with all the Hermione questions?" Draco asked, still wary of what Harry was trying to do.

"Well…I was just wondering what you thought of her now that she's back. I mean, neither of us liked her as a kid."

"She did have her sweet moments when she was little," Draco pointed out. "I mean, she took notes on stuff Binns said. And she didn't ruin my books like I thought she was going to. And she really did like getting her hair brushed."

'_YES! Oooh, must write this down before I forget!' _"Hang on one sec, Draco. I forgot to brush my teeth." Harry departed off the couch, although Draco didn't notice him, since he was still listing things he'd liked about little Hermione.

Pulling a small book and a quill out of his robe pocket, Harry jotted down:

_-Admits he only likes Mione as friend. _

_-Was actually blushing when we changed her back (he was straddling her.) Do Malfoy's blush?_

_-Told me little Mione did have sweet moments._

_-Feels guilty wishing horrible things upon her._

Harry chewed on the feather, spitting out the bits he managed to get in his teeth. Had he missed anything? Nope…now, to go back to interviewing.

"Done talking to yourself?" the Gryffindor asked, exiting the bathroom with the book and quill tucked safely back in his robe.

"I wasn't talking to yourself. I was talking to Me, Myself, and I. There were three of us."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if all this time with Hermione ruined your brain. I think you took one to many hits to your head."

"Ha ha, very funny," Draco said sarcastically. "What's the sudden obsession with brushing your teeth? Normally Hermione has to make you."

"I just want my breath to smell nice. Is that a problem?"

"Now who's mental?"

Harry glared but remained silent. After a few seconds though, he opened his mouth again. "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while."

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember when you had Snape baby-sit me?"

Draco looked up from Sparkles, a soft sparkle in his eyes that he quickly vanquished. "Yes."

"Why exactly did Snape have to watch me? Where'd you and Hermione go?"

Draco blushed. Harry blinked. Nope, blush was still there.

"We were on Prefect duty," the Slytherin finally said.

It was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Then why are you blushing?"

Yup, something was definitely embarrassing the Slytherin. The light pink hue became more of a pale red.

Draco knew it was pointless to lie. But he wasn't going to tell about the thing that almost happened. "We went outside…there was a storm that night. And you know how I don't like them." Harry nodded for Draco to continue. "That's basically it. We went outside, Hermione attempted to make me face them. It went okay, I guess," he said with a shrug, the red tinting now gone.

"You're not telling me something…"

"Do I have to tell you everything?" Draco snarled, tears of rage, yet of sadness, appearing in his eyes.

Harry hastily withdrew. "No! Of course not." Softer he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

Draco ignored him, looking down at his stuffed dragon. "It was my father," he said after a few minute's silence. "It wasn't the thunder I was afraid of. It was him."

Harry patiently waited for him to continue, knowing that there were two things happening. One, Draco was telling. The more serious one it seemed. The other, most likely something embarrassing or having something to due with Hermione wasn't being mentioned.

"It was the first time he hit me. During a storm. That's why I'm afraid of them. Happy now?"

"I'm…sorry," was all Harry could think to say. On sudden impulse he added, "Do you want a hug?"

Draco managed a weak smile. "From you? I don't think so."

Harry chuckled. "I had a feeling you wouldn't. Would you take one from Hermione?"

"Possibly."

The Gryffindor rolled his eyes but left it. He also dropped the blushing matter. Maybe Hermione would tell him later…

"Want to play a round of chess while we wait for Hermione? It'll be nice not to lose for once."

"You're a bit mistaken there," Draco said, accioing the board over from the bookshelf. "I never lose to anyone, except Blaise, at chess."

"And I've only ever lost to Ron. Unfortunately, he's the only one who likes to play me. Hermione refuses to do either of us and I've never had the chance to play with Ginny yet."

"Then let's play, Potter."

Harry grinned. So Draco was reverting to last names? He must be really serious. "You're on, Malfoy."

Three hours later…

Two very frustrated boys were glaring at each other from across the table, their pieces in the fourth stalemate for that day. "Why can't I beat you?" Draco growled, picking up one of his pawns and chucking it at Harry's head, the small marble piece crying in alarm as it flew through the air.

The Boy-who-lived became the Boy-who-ducked and the screaming chess piece flew over his head and hit the couch. "Because I have superior skills," Harry smirked.

"Then why can't you beat me?"

"…"

_Thud._

Both looked up from their chess game to where the sound originated from. Hermione's door. "She's up!" Harry cried excitedly, leaping to his feet and running for the girl's bedroom. But when he tried to turn the knob, he found it locked. "She locked it."

"Aren't you observant?" Draco remarked sarcastically, making his way over to Harry. "I don't think she wants to talk to us."

"Please open the door, Hermione," Harry pleaded.

No response.

"We're not going to kill you," Draco comforted. "Just attempt to."

"He didn't mean that!" Harry consoled, kicking Draco on his shin. "We just want to see you."

But after an hour and still no response from Hermione, Draco and Harry decided on the best course of action.

"We're breaking down the door!" Harry shouted, pulling out his wand (they'd already tried just unlocking it to no avail). "We just want to make sure you're all right." Turning to Draco he said, "Ready?"

"Blast it."

"REDUCTO!" they chorused, bright light shooting off their wands and destroying the door on impact. Both rushed in, looking wildly around for their friend. She wasn't hard to find…simply curled up on her bed with her face towards the window.

"Mione?" Harry said hesitantly, stepping into the dark room.

"Go away," she whispered, voice heavy with tears.

"Don't be like that," Draco chided. "It's not that bad."

She sat up and looked at them. Her hair was tangled and hanging limply down her back, tears still leaking from her eyes and cheeks red. "It is too that bad," she said vehemently, a spark of the old Hermione they knew entering her eyes. "The school hates me!"

"We don't hate you," Harry comforted.

Even Draco knew it wasn't time to joke. "We really don't, Hermione. And no one else does either."

"Then they're all crazy," she sniffled. "Look what I did!"

"They'll forgive you," Harry said softly, sitting down on the bed next to Hermione.

"They might…but I'm not going to forgive myself. I'm quitting Hogwarts. I'm going home."

"You couldn't help what you did when you were little. You told us you'd be bad. You gave us a warning. That's the best you could have done," Draco said. "I guess no one here means much to you at all if you're willing to just go throwing everything you've learned and everyone you've met away like trash."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Draco wasn't done. "You told me that I mattered to you. Since you plan on leaving because of a few little pranks you pulled, I suddenly mean nothing? That all the time you spent with me when I was a kid meant nothing? That you didn't care at all? Because if you did care, you wouldn't hurt your friends leaving us."

"I'm…sorry," she whispered, throwing herself at Draco, who'd also sat down on the bed. "I'm so sorry!" she sobbed, burying her head into his robes.

Harry smiled. He didn't mind one bit that Hermione had gone to Draco for comfort. His speech had even moved Harry, the boy only noticing when he couldn't see out of his glasses.

They sat like that for a few minutes, Draco's arms around Hermione and her hands grabbing onto the front of his robes, Harry on Hermione's other side and playing with her hair.

"You do matter," she said softly, removing herself from Draco's arms. "Both of you. You mean the world to me…I'm sorry for earlier. I won't quit. I'm going to stay and show them that I don't care what happened earlier! Because I'm Hermione Granger and a Gryffindor. And we don't quit!"

"That's the spirit!" Harry cheered.

"Bloody Gryffindors," Draco muttered.

Normally, Hermione would have thwacked Draco upside the head for making fun of her house. Now, she laughing, she simply leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek, Draco's natural pallor going pink again. Harry made sure to get that one on camera, and then one on Harry's, said boy having fortunately put the camera away before she saw it.

"Now both of you scat, I have to get dressed." Pushing Harry out the door, Draco already making his way out, Hermione closed it, still laughing to herself.

"Why are you so red?" Harry asked, watching with interest as Draco took several calming breaths to destroy the blush.

"I'm hot," was his reply.

Harry shook his head but didn't say anything. After all…he'd caught it on film.

Minutes later, Hermione had gotten dressed, used the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and was ready to go. "You two ready?" she asked cheerily, looping arms with both of them.

"I can't believe you're acting like this," Harry said. "It's almost scary."

"I just realized that my friends won't hate me no matter what. And they'll always forgive me. I mean, after all, what could I do worse then what I did during the last two weeks?"

"Turning me into a teapot comes pretty close."

"I told you I was sorry! It was an accident. I didn't mean to real-"

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize again."

"I am going to say sorry to all the professors though. And everyone else while I'm at it. Hell, I may as well make a public announcement."

"Uh oh. She swore. Naughty Hermione," Draco said, shaking his free arm's pointer finger at her. "What did Harry and I tell you about that?"

"Bastard."

"Bad, bad girl."

"I know I am, aren't I?"

Harry dropped behind the two of them, pretending to tie his shoe. Opening his book he wrote:

_-Draco gave speech to Mione. Really worked._

_-Comforted her_

_-Flirting going down hall to lunch. I'm not sure they realize that's what they're doing though._

"Oy! Harry! Are you coming? How long does it take to tie a shoe?" Draco yelled down the hall. Harry looked up. His friends were almost at the end of the corridor.

"I kept getting the laces mixed up!" he defended, jumping to his feet and running to meet them.

The group reached the Great Hall together. "Ready to go in?" Harry asked, pressing the door forward.

Hermione paused, chewing on her lower lip. "Yes. Let's go." Relooping arms with Harry (she hadn't let go of Draco's, something Harry was very happy to see) Hermione pushed open the door fully and stepped in. The chatter that had been echoing off the walls ceased.

Walking proudly with her head held high, Hermione made her way to Gryffindor table, ignoring the whispers that raced around the room. Undoing her arms once she'd gotten to the bench, Hermione stood on top of it, waiting for everyone to be quiet while Harry and Draco took seats on each side, Ginny on Harry's other.

"I'd like to say…that I'm sorry," Hermione said, a sonorous charm on her voice so that she didn't have to yell. "I know that what I did was awful. I'd especially like to apologize to Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Madam Pomfrey, my whole Transfiguration class, my Charms class, and everyone else. Also for flooding the Potions room and ruining all of Professor Snape's things, and for the trouble I caused at the Hospital Wing. Oh! And the Owlry! I know this probably doesn't mean much, but I really am sorry for all that I did. And I admit I was the one who destroyed the library. An accident though! Thank you all for putting up with me, even when you didn't want to. And for that, I thank you and apologize."

Hermione took her seat to loud applause as well as a few whistles and catcalls. "That wasn't so hard," she smiled. "Pass the apples, Harry."

As soon as the boy had done so, Dumbledore stood up to make his own announcement. Everyone quieted, many snickering at his still rather short beard.

"I would like to say this," he smiled, eyes twinkling. "As you all know this was the first time Hogwarts has hosted a Parenting Class. And it went exceedingly well, save a few minor complications. So, our new set of sixth years shall be taking part in it next year."

Ginny shrieked with excitement while Ron groaned. "Next year is going to be very long."

* * *

"And give group three a round of applause!" Tobin cried, clapping merrily along with her students as Hermione, Draco, and Harry took their seats.

They'd just finished presenting their project that had been in the making for the last week. Each camera had been deposited at Dumbledore's office where he'd had the films and pictures developed and distributed as needed.

On Group three's board, they had started with pictures of all little Draco and then moved down with events in time order. Draco had begged to be allowed to put Hermione's picture of her in a thong up, but the girl had finally threatened to burn the picture if she ever saw it and Draco had wisely kept it hidden in his room.

The last part of the presentation was a collage of pictures of all three of them at their current ages (seventeen, sixteen and sixteen) with friends and teachers during the two day breaks.

All three grinned at each other as Group four headed up. It was over.

* * *

That night, around ten, two figures met inside a deserted classroom on the second floor, their eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Did you get anything?" the smaller one asked.

"A little," the taller one replied, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Good. Anything we can use?"

"Plenty."

"Have they admitted anything yet?"

"Nothing."

"Even under torture?"

"I don't think we've done that yet…"

"You're no fun," the redhead pouted, sticking her tongue out at her boyfriend. "Seriously though. Anything?"

"I think so," Harry replied, handing over the journal as well as a few pictures he'd snapped. "Although he's not admitting it out right. Say…do you know what happened when they had Snape watch me? Draco got all upset when I asked."

"Not a clue. Think it was something juicy?"

"Probably."

"Ooooh! Maybe they kissed!"

Harry choked on his water bottle. "Do you think they did?"

"Dunno. How were they the day after?"

"Normal…I guess."

"Then they didn't kiss. Otherwise they would have known how the other felt and they would have been an item by now. Something else happened…"

"But what?"

"No idea," Ginny sighed, handing Harry back the book. "Any ideas?"

"None."

The two let out a groan of frustration in sync.

Two of their friends were in love. But they didn't want to admit it. And they would never know how the other felt unless they admitted in. Something that neither saw happening in the near future.

It looked like it was time for Harry and Ginny to step in. And they were ready to. One baby step at a time.

**Author's Notes:**

**PARENTING CLASS IS DONE! OVER! NEVER TO HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER! SQUEE?**

Okay, got that out of my system. Yes, PC is over. I meant to try and get to forty chapters, but this seemed like the perfect ending. I want to thank everyone who reviewed whether it was once, twice, or all thirty-seven chapters. (Please review this one too!)

The sequel should have its first chapter posted somewhere in September or early October. For the rest of the summer, I plan on concentration on a few other fics. :nod: Please be patient for the sequel. I'm still getting some ideas down for it. Remember, it'll have more angst, drama, action, and lots more romance.

Also, I'm thinking of doing a trilogy. This was kinda implied in a previous chapter. Anyone have any guesses? The third part would be set in seventh year though (hint :P)

I hope to hear from all of you one last time. My wish is for PC to have 100 reviews per chapter on average. We're almost at that goal. And I hope to see you all at the sequel! Thank you so much for your support of this story!

And one last poll question. **Who was your favorite child?**

**A. Draco**

**B. Harry**

**C. Hermione**

--

Parenting Class finished on: July 7, 2005

Sequel can be found as One Step at a Time on my profile or in the link below (please remove the spaces)  
_www.fanfiction(DOT)net/s/2593121/1/_

To read the Spanish Version please visit below link (please remove spaces) -- Is still incomplete  
_www.fanfiction(DOT)net/s/2461947/1/_

To read the Spanish Version that is being constantly updated (July 2008) please visit link below (please remove spaces)  
www.fanfiction(DOT)net/s/4367665/1/Aprendiendoaserpadres


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